Method and system for battery management for mobile geofencing devices

ABSTRACT

A method and system for battery management for a mobile geofence apparatus. Location information for a vehicle, temperature information for the vehicle and battery information for the internal battery on the mobile geofence apparatus is automatically, continuously and periodically collected and sent during a connection interval in real-time to an external network server network device via a communications network for tracking the vehicle in real-time. The battery information is displayed on the mobile geofence apparatus for a viewer and is also sent to an external server network device for display to a viewer. Internal battery usage is automatically managed internally on the mobile geofence apparatus using the collected location, battery and temperature information. The internal battery on the mobile geofence apparatus is also automatically managed externally via the external server network device using the collected location, battery and temperature information.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This utility application claims priority to U.S. Provisional patentapplication No. 62/948,251, filed Dec. 14, 2019, the contents of whichare incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This application relates to geofencing. More specifically, it relates toa method and system for battery management of geofencing devices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Impound yards are used to store vehicles that have been towed away byprivate companies, at the request of law enforcement, at the request ofa car dealer, at the request of finance companies, etc.

A “geofence” is a virtual geographic boundary, defined by GlobalPositioning System (GPS), Radio Frequency Identifier (RFID) technologyor other wireless location technologies that enables a response to betriggered when a mobile geofencing apparatus enters or leaves thegeographic boundary of an actual area (e.g., car lot, impound lot,homeowner driveway, etc.) and when it is necessary to track to a desiredvehicle during transport or during a repossession event.

A “mobile geofence apparatus” is a mobile network device that is poweredby an internal battery that attached to a vehicle (e.g., car, truck,boat, aircraft, watercraft, snow machine, etc.) that provides thelocation of the vehicle in real-time (e.g., every 1-2 seconds).

There are several problems associated with the internal batteriesassociated with mobile geofence apparatus. One problem is that inclimates including warm and humid weather, and extreme cold weather, theoperational lifetime of the internal batteries are reduced. However,currently there is no technology available on the mobile geofencingapparatus itself or remotely via the Internet or other network todetermine when a battery needs to be replaced.

Another problem is that there is no easy way to estimate and calculatebattery usage for given temperature/humidity situation.

Another problem is that there is no easy way to determine an ambienttemperature of a battery in a mobile geofence apparatus.

Another problem is that there no easy way to determine how changing areporting frequency for the mobile geofencing apparatus affects anambient temperature of the battery. For example, during a repossessionevent, it may be desired for the mobile geofencing apparatus to report acurrent location of a vehicle every one-to-two seconds instead of oncean hour, etc. Such frequent reporting can significantly reduce thebattery life and battery charge of an internal battery.

Another problem is that there is no easy way to adjust battery usagewhen a voltage level of an internal battery mobile geofencing apparatusfalls below a pre-determined critical voltage level.

Another problem is that there is no easy way to estimate a currentlocation of a vehicle if the internal battery mobile geofencingapparatus falls below a pre-determined critical voltage level or is inan area with no or limited network connectivity to provide currenttemperature and location data.

Another problem is that there is not a graphical battery meter on mobilegeofencing apparatus or a graphical battery meter for any server networkdevice the mobile geofencing apparatus connects to.

There are been attempts to solve some of the problems with batterymanagement for geofencing devices.

For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,538,667 that issued to Koen teaches “Awireless device for facilitating for GPS-based asset tracking via awireless communications network and a centralized management system. Thewireless device includes dynamically configurable event profiles whichallow the wireless device to be dynamically reconfigured and to performcertain actions based on a dynamically configurable combination ofreceived events.”

U.S. Pat. No. 7,940,173, that issued to Koen teaches “A wireless devicefor facilitating for GPS-based asset tracking via a wirelesscommunications network and a centralized management system. The wirelessdevice includes dynamically configurable event profiles which allow thewireless device to be dynamically reconfigured and to perform certainactions based on a dynamically configurable combination of receivedevents.”

U.S. Pat. No. 8,766,791, that issued to Koen et. al teaches “A wirelessdevice for facilitating GPS-based asset tracking. The wireless deviceincludes dynamically configurable event profiles which allow thewireless device to be dynamically reconfigured and to perform certainactions based on a dynamically configurable combination of receivedevents. In addition, geofences with inherent aspects are used to triggercertain actions of the wireless device based on classes and attributesthat define the inherent aspect.”

U.S. Pat. No. 8,810,454 that issued to Cosman teaches “Embodimentsenable geofencing applications and beacon watch lists. A computingdevice with at least a first processor and a second processor identifiesa set of beacons associated with a geofence. The first processorconsumes less power when operating than the second processor. The firstprocessor is provided with the identified set of beacons. In beaconwatch list embodiments, the first processor detects one or more beaconsproximate to the computing device, compares the detected beacons withthe provided set of beacons to determine whether the computing device iswithin the geofence, and updates a location status based on thecomparison. In tiered geofencing implementations, the computing deviceswitches among positioning modalities based on a distance from thecomputing device to the geofence to save power.”

However, none of these problems solve of the problems associated withbattery management of mobile geofencing devices. Thus, it is desirableto solve some of the problems associated with battery management ofmobile geofencing devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with preferred embodiments of the present invention, someof the problems associated with battery management for mobile geofencingdevices are overcome. A method and system for battery management formobile geofencing devices is presented.

Location information for a vehicle, temperature information for thevehicle and battery information for the internal battery on the mobilegeofence apparatus is automatically, continuously and periodicallycollected and sent during a connection interval in real-time to anexternal network server network device via communications network fortracking the vehicle in real-time. The battery information is displayedon the mobile geofence apparatus for a viewer and is also sent to anexternal server network device for display to a viewer. Internal batteryusage is automatically managed internally on the mobile geofenceapparatus using the collected location, battery and temperatureinformation. The internal battery on the mobile geofence apparatus canalso be automatically managed externally via the external server networkdevice using the collected location, battery and temperatureinformation. The connection interval is adjusted automatically anddynamically by mobile geofence apparatus itself or by the externalnetwork server to save battery life on the internal battery when thevehicle is in extreme hot or cold weather conditions and during timeswhen the vehicle is an area with poor network connectivity or coverage.

The foregoing and other features and advantages of preferred embodimentsof the present invention will be more readily apparent from thefollowing detailed description. The detailed description proceeds withreferences to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described withreference to the following drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic information system;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary electronic contentinformation display system;

FIG. 3 a block diagram illustrating a layered protocol stack for networkdevices in the electronic information display system;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary cloud computingnetwork;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary cloud storageobject;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary GPS geofencingsystem;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are a flow diagram illustrating a method for geofencing;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for geofencing;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating geofencing;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating geofencing;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a portable vehicle on-boarddiagnostics (OBD-2) apparatus;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a side view of the portablevehicle on-board diagnostics (OBD-2) apparatus of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a mobile geofencing device;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating display of battery operationalinformation from a mobile geofencing device;

FIGS. 15A, 15B and 15C are a flow diagram illustrating a method forbattery management on a mobile geofencing device;

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for battery managementfor a mobile geofencing device;

FIG. 17 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for battery managementfor a mobile geofencing device;

FIG. 18 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for battery managementfor a mobile geofencing device;

FIG. 19 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for battery managementfor a mobile geofencing device;

FIG. 20 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for battery managementfor a mobile geofencing device;

FIG. 21 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for battery managementfor a mobile geofencing device; and

FIG. 22 is a flow diagram illustrating a method for battery managementfor a mobile geofencing device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary electronicinformation system 10. The exemplary electronic system 10 includes, butis not limited to, one or more target network devices 12, 14, 16 (onlythree of which are illustrated) each with one or more processors andeach with a non-transitory computer readable medium.

The one or more target network devices 12, 14, 16 include, but are notlimited to, multimedia capable desktop and laptop computers 16, tabletcomputers 14, facsimile machines, mobile phones 12, surface computers21, wearable network devices 23, non-mobile phones, smart phones,Internet phones, Internet appliances, personal digital/data assistants(PDA), two-way pagers, digital cameras, portable game consoles (PlayStation Portable by Sony, Game Boy by Sony, Nintendo DSI, etc.),non-portable game consoles (Xbox by Microsoft, Play Station by Sony, Wiiby Nintendo, etc.), cable television (CATV), satellite television (SATV)and Internet television set-top boxes, digital televisions includinghigh definition television (HDTV), three-dimensional (3DTV) televisionsand other types of network devices.

The one or more smart network devices 12, 14, 16 include smart phonessuch as the iPhone by Apple, Inc., Blackberry Storm and other Blackberrymodels by Research In Motion, Inc. (RIM), Droid by Motorola, Inc. HTC,Inc. other types of smart phones, etc. However, the present invention isnot limited to such smart phone devices, and more, fewer or otherdevices can be used to practice the invention.

A “smart phone” is a mobile phone that offers more advanced computingability and connectivity than a contemporary basic feature phone. Smartphones and feature phones may be thought of as handheld computersintegrated with a mobile telephone, but while most feature phones areable to run applications based on platforms such as Java ME, a smartphone usually allows the user to install and run more advancedapplications. Smart phones and/or tablet computers run completeoperating system software providing a platform for applicationdevelopers.

The operating systems include the iPhone OS, Android, Windows, etc.iPhone OS is a proprietary operating system for the Apple iPhone.Android is an open source operating system platform backed by Google,along with major hardware and software developers (such as Intel, HTC,ARM, Motorola and Samsung, etc.), that form the Open Handset Alliance.

The one or more smart network devices 12, 14, 16 include tabletcomputers such as the iPad, by Apple, Inc., the HP Tablet, by HewlettPackard, Inc., the Playbook, by RIM, Inc., the Tablet, by Sony, Inc.

A surface computer 21, includes, but is not limited to, a network devicethat interacts with the user through the surface such as a touch screen,instead of a monitor, keyboard, mouse, stylus, and/or other physicalhardware.

A wearable network device 23, includes, but is not limited to, acategory of electronic devices that can be worn as accessories (e.g.,glasses, fitness bands, watches, rings, other jewelry, medical devices,etc.), embedded in clothing (e.g., shoes, jackets, pants, shirts,blouses, etc.), embedded into other network devices (e.g., devices withsensors and/or actuators for collecting information, such as radiationlevels, temperature, pressure, identification information, etc.) andconnectable to a communications network 18, 18′. A wearable device 23 isa sub-class of Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

The target network devices 12, 14, 16 are in communications with a cloudcommunications network 18 and/or non-cloud communications network 18′via one or more wired and/or wireless communications interfaces. Thecloud communications network 18, is also called a “cloud computingnetwork” herein and the terms may be used interchangeably.

The plural target network devices 12, 14, 16 received desired electroniccontent 13, 15 (e.g., electronic messages, etc.) stored on the cloudcommunications network 18.

The cloud communications network 18 includes, but is not limited to,communications over a wire connected to the target network devices,wireless communications, and other types of communications using one ormore communications and/or networking protocols.

Plural server network devices 20, 22, 24, 26 (only four of which areillustrated) each with one or more processors and a non-transitorycomputer readable medium include one or more associated databases 20′,22′, 24′, 26′. The plural network devices 20, 22, 24, 26 are incommunications with the one or more target devices 12, 14, 16 via thecloud communications network 18.

Plural server network devices 20, 22, 24, 26 (only four of which areillustrated) are physically located on one more public networks 76 (SeeFIG. 4), private networks 72, community networks 74 and/or hybridnetworks 78 comprising the cloud network 18.

One or more server network devices (e.g., 20, etc.) securely stores acloud content location map 17 and other plural server network devices(e.g., 22, 24, 26, etc.) store portions 13′, 15′ of desired electroniccontent 13, 15 as cloud storage objects 82 (FIG. 5) as is describedherein.

The plural server network devices 20, 22, 24 26, include, but are notlimited to, World Wide Web servers, Internet servers, search engineservers, vertical search engine servers, social networking site servers,file servers, other types of electronic information servers, and othertypes of server network devices (e.g., edge servers, firewalls, routers,gateways, etc.).

The plural server network devices 20, 22, 24, 26 also include, but arenot limited to, network servers used for cloud computing providers, etc.

The cloud communications network 18 includes, but is not limited to, awired and/or wireless communications network comprising one or moreportions of: the Internet, an intranet, a Local Area Network (LAN), awireless LAN (WiLAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Metropolitan AreaNetwork (MAN), a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), a WirelessPersonal Area Network (WPAN) and other types of wired and/or wirelesscommunications networks 18.

The cloud communications network 18 includes one or more gateways,routers, bridges and/or switches. A gateway connects computer networksusing different network protocols and/or operating at differenttransmission capacities. A router receives transmitted messages andforwards them to their correct destinations over the most efficientavailable route. A bridge is a device that connects networks using thesame communications protocols so that information can be passed from onenetwork device to another. A switch is a device that filters andforwards packets between network segments based on some pre-determinedsequence (e.g., timing, sequence number, etc.).

An operating environment for the network devices of the exemplaryelectronic information display system 10 include a processing systemwith one or more high speed Central Processing Unit(s) (CPU),processors, one or more memories and/or other types of non-transitorycomputer readable mediums. In accordance with the practices of personsskilled in the art of computer programming, the present invention isdescribed below with reference to acts and symbolic representations ofoperations or instructions that are performed by the processing system,unless indicated otherwise. Such acts and operations or instructions arereferred to as being “computer-executed,” “CPU-executed,” or“processor-executed.” Executing instructions on a processor or CPUgenerates heat.

It will be appreciated that acts and symbolically represented operationsor instructions include the manipulation of electrical information bythe CPU or processor. An electrical system represents data bits whichcause a resulting transformation or reduction of the electricalinformation or biological information, and the maintenance of data bitsat memory locations in a memory system to thereby reconfigure orotherwise alter the CPU's or processor's operation, as well as otherprocessing of information. The memory locations where data bits aremaintained are physical locations that have particular electrical,magnetic, optical, or organic properties corresponding to the data bits.

The data bits may also be maintained on a non-transitory computerreadable medium including magnetic disks, optical disks, organic memory,and any other volatile (e.g., Random Access Memory (RAM)) ornon-volatile (e.g., Read-Only Memory (ROM), flash memory, etc.) massstorage system readable by the CPU. The non-transitory computer readablemedium includes cooperating or interconnected computer readable medium,which exist exclusively on the processing system or can be distributedamong multiple interconnected processing systems that may be local orremote to the processing system.

Exemplary Electronic Content Display System

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary electronic contentinformation display system 28. The exemplary electronic informationsystem display system includes, but is not limited to a target networkdevice (e.g., 12, etc.) with a cloud application 30 and a displaycomponent 32. The cloud application 30 presents a graphical userinterface (GUI) 34 on the display 32 component. The GUI 32 presents amulti-window 36, 36′, etc. (only two of which are illustrated) interfaceto a user.

In one embodiment of the invention, the cloud application 30 is asoftware application. However, the present invention is not limited tothis embodiment and the cloud application 30 can be hardware, firmware,hardware and/or any combination thereof. However, the present inventionis not limited these embodiments and other embodiments can be used topractice the invention.

In another embodiment, a portion of the cloud application 30 isexecuting on the target network devices 12, 14, 16 and another portionof the application 30′ is executing on the server network devices 20,22, 24, 26. However, the present invention is not limited theseembodiments and other embodiments can be used to practice the invention.In one embodiment, the application 30 includes a geofence applicationand application 30′ includes a location application. In anotherembodiment, application 30/30′ is a non-cloud application. However, thepresent invention is not limited these embodiments and other embodimentscan be used to practice the invention.

In one embodiment, the application 30/30′ includes an applicationprogramming interface (API). An application programming interface (API)specifies how some software components interact with each other. Inaddition to accessing databases or computer hardware, such as hard diskdrives or video cards, an API is used to ease the work of programmingGUI components, to allow integration of new features into existingapplications (a so-called “plug-in API”), or to share data betweenotherwise distinct applications. An API includes a library that includesspecifications for routines, data structures, object classes, andvariables. In some other cases, notably for REpresentational StateTransfer (REST) and Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) services, anAPI comes as a specification of remote calls exposed to the APIconsumers. However, the present invention is not limited theseembodiments and other embodiments can be used to practice the invention,with and/or without an API.

Exemplary Networking Protocol Stack

FIG. 3 a block diagram illustrating a layered protocol stack 38 fornetwork devices in the electronic information display system 10. Thelayered protocol stack 38 is described with respect to Internet Protocol(IP) suites comprising in general from lowest-to-highest, a link 42,network 44, transport 48 and application 57 layer. However, more orfewer layers could also be used, and different layer designations couldalso be used for the layers in the protocol stack 38 (e.g., layeringbased on the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model including fromlowest-to-highest, a physical, data-link, network, transport, session,presentation and application layer.).

The network devices 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26 are connected to thecommunication network 18 with Network Interface Card (NIC) cardsincluding device drivers 40 in a link layer 42 for the actual hardwareconnecting the network devices 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26 to the cloudcommunications network 18. For example, the NIC device drivers 40 mayinclude a serial port device driver, a digital subscriber line (DSL)device driver, an Ethernet device driver, a wireless device driver, awired device driver, etc. The device drivers interface with the actualhardware being used to connect the network devices to the cloudcommunications network 18. The NIC cards have a medium access control(MAC) address that is unique to each NIC and unique across the wholecloud network 18. The Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol is used toprovide a data link layer of an Ethernet LAN system and for othernetwork systems.

Above the link layer 42 is a network layer 44 (also called the InternetLayer for Internet Protocol (IP) suites). The network layer 44 includes,but is not limited to, an IP layer 46.

IP 46 is an addressing protocol designed to route traffic within anetwork or between networks. However, more fewer or other protocols canalso be used in the network layer 44, and the present invention is notlimited to IP 46. For more information on IP 54 see IETF RFC-791,incorporated herein by reference.

Above network layer 44 is a transport layer 48. The transport layer 48includes, but is not limited to, an optional Internet Group ManagementProtocol (IGMP) layer 50, a Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP)layer 52, a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) layer 52 and a UserDatagram Protocol (UDP) layer 54. However, more, fewer or otherprotocols could also be used in the transport layer 48.

Optional IGMP layer 50, hereinafter IGMP 50, is responsible formulticasting. For more information on IGMP 50 see RFC-1112, incorporatedherein by reference. ICMP layer 52, hereinafter ICMP 52 is used for IP46 control. The main functions of ICMP 52 include error reporting,reachability testing (e.g., pinging, etc.), route-change notification,performance, subnet addressing and other maintenance. For moreinformation on ICMP 52 see RFC-792, incorporated herein by reference.Both IGMP 50 and ICMP 52 are not required in the protocol stack 38. ICMP52 can be used alone without optional IGMP layer 50.

TCP layer 54, hereinafter TCP 54, provides a connection-oriented,end-to-end reliable protocol designed to fit into a layered hierarchy ofprotocols which support multi-network applications. TCP 54 provides forreliable inter-process communication between pairs of processes innetwork devices attached to distinct but interconnected networks. Formore information on TCP 54 see RFC-793, incorporated herein byreference.

UDP layer 56, hereinafter UDP 56, provides a connectionless mode ofcommunications with datagrams in an interconnected set of computernetworks. UDP 56 provides a transaction oriented datagram protocol,where delivery and duplicate packet protection are not guaranteed. Formore information on UDP 56 see RFC-768, incorporated herein byreference. Both TCP 54 and UDP 56 are not required in protocol stack 38.Either TCP 54 or UDP 56 can be used without the other.

Above transport layer 48 is an application layer 57 where applicationprograms 58 (e.g., 30, 30′, etc.) to carry out desired functionality fora network device reside. For example, the application programs 54 forthe client network devices 12, 14, 16 may include a web-browsers orother application programs, cloud application program 30, whileapplication programs for the server network devices 20, 22, 24, 26 mayinclude other application programs (e.g., 30′, etc.).

However, the protocol stack 38 is not limited to the protocol layersillustrated and more, fewer or other layers and protocols can also beused in protocol stack 38. In addition, other protocols from theInternet Protocol suites (e.g., Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, (SMTP),Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP),Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), DNS, etc.) and/or otherprotocols from other protocol suites may also be used in protocol stack38.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention include network devicesand wired and wireless interfaces that are compliant with all or part ofstandards proposed by the Institute of Electrical and ElectronicEngineers (IEEE), International TelecommunicationsUnion-Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU), EuropeanTelecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), Internet Engineering TaskForce (IETF), U.S. National Institute of Security Technology (NIST),American National Standard Institute (ANSI), Wireless ApplicationProtocol (WAP) Forum, Bluetooth Forum, or the ADSL Forum.

Exemplary Wireless Interfaces

In one embodiment of the present invention, the wireless interfaces onnetwork devices 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26 include but are not limitedto, 3G and/or 4G IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.15.4(ZigBee), “Wireless Fidelity” (Wi-Fi), Wi-Fi Aware, “WorldwideInteroperability for Microwave Access” (WiMAX), ETSI High PerformanceRadio Metropolitan Area Network (HIPERMAN), “RF Home,” Near FieldCommunications (NFC) and/or Machine-to-Machine (M2M) wirelessinterfaces. In another embodiment of the present invention, the wirelesssensor device may include an integral or separate Bluetooth and/or infradata association (IrDA) module for wireless Bluetooth or wirelessinfrared communications. However, the present invention is not limitedto such an embodiment and other 802.11xx and other types of wirelessinterfaces can also be used.

802.11b is a short-range wireless network standard. The IEEE 802.11bstandard defines wireless interfaces that provide up to 11 Mbps wirelessdata transmission to and from wireless devices over short ranges.802.11a is an extension of the 802.11b and can deliver speeds up to 54Mbps. 802.11g deliver speeds on par with 802.11a. However, other 802.11XXinterfaces can also be used and the present invention is not limited tothe 802.11 protocols defined. The IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11gstandards are incorporated herein by reference.

Wi-Fi is a type of 802.11xx interface, whether 802.11b, 802.11a,dual-band, etc. Wi-Fi devices include an RF interfaces such as 2.4 GHzfor 802.11b or 802.11g and 5 GHz for 802.11a.

Wi-Fi Aware is a new capability for energy-efficient, proximity-basedservice discovery among Wi-Fi capable devices. The technology in Wi-FiAware enables network devices to discover other devices, applications,and information nearby before making a Wi-Fi connection. Wi-Fi Awaremakes contextual awareness more immediate and useful, enablingpersonalized applications (e.g., 30, 30′, etc.) that continuously scansurroundings, anticipate actions, and notify of services and selectedpreferences. Wi-Fi Aware devices go through a process of discovery andsynchronization, establishing a common “heartbeat” that enables verypower efficient operation. Devices form clusters and exchange smallmessages about services available nearby, enabling immediate discovery.Wi-Fi Aware's ability to send and receive tiny messages beforeestablishing a network 18, 18′ connection further enables a two-wayconversation among network devices in emergency and non-emergencysituations whose current physical geographic locations and/or 2D/3Dgeo-space (X,Y) and/or (X,Y,Z) information may be known and available.This capability not only enables a network device to discover nearbyinformation and services, but request additional information, such asemergency location information—all without establishing, an Internet,PSTN, or other network connections 18, 18′. The Wi-Fi Aware referencedocument, wp_Wi-FLAware_Industry_20150714_v2, Jul. 14, 2015, isincorporated herein by reference.

In one embodiment, the applications 30, 30′ include Wi-Fi Awarecapabilities. In one embodiment the wireless interfaces include Wi-FiAware wireless interface capabilities. However, the present invention isnot limited to these embodiments and the invention can be practicedwithout Wi-Fi Aware capabilities.

802.15.4 (Zigbee) is low data rate network standard used for meshnetwork devices such as sensors, interactive toys, smart badges, remotecontrols, and home automation. The 802.15.4 standard provides data ratesof 250 kbps, 40 kbps, and 20 kbps., two addressing modes; 16-bit shortand 64-bit IEEE addressing, support for critical latency devices, suchas joysticks, Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance,(CSMA-CA) channel access, automatic network establishment by acoordinator, fully handshaked protocol for transfer reliability, powermanagement to ensure low power consumption for multi-month to multi-yearbattery usage and up to 16 channels in the 2.4 GHz Industrial,Scientific and Medical (ISM) band (Worldwide), 10 channels in the 915MHz (US) and one channel in the 868 MHz band (Europe). The IEEE802.15.4-2003 standard is incorporated herein by reference. Moreinformation on 802.15.4 and ZigBee can be found at the domain name“www.ieee802.org” and “www.zigbee.org” respectively.

WiMAX is an industry trade organization formed by leading communicationscomponent and equipment companies to promote and certify compatibilityand interoperability of broadband wireless access equipment thatconforms to the IEEE 802.16XX and ETSI HIPERMAN. HIPERMAN is theEuropean standard for metropolitan area networks (MAN).

The IEEE The 802.16a and 802.16g standards are wireless MAN technologystandard that provides a wireless alternative to cable, DSL and T1/E1for last mile broadband access. It is also used as complimentarytechnology to connect IEEE 802.11XX hot spots to the Internet.

The IEEE 802.16a standard for 2-11 GHz is a wireless MAN technology thatprovides broadband wireless connectivity to fixed, portable and nomadicdevices. It provides up to 50-kilometers of service area range, allowsusers to get broadband connectivity without needing direct line of sightwith the base station, and provides total data rates of up to 280 Mbpsper base station, which is enough bandwidth to simultaneously supporthundreds of businesses with T1/E1-type connectivity and thousands ofhomes with DSL-type connectivity with a single base station. The IEEE802.16g provides up to 100 Mbps.

The IEEE 802.16e standard is an extension to the approved IEEE802.16/16a/16g standard. The purpose of 802.16e is to add limitedmobility to the current standard which is designed for fixed operation.

The ESTI HIPERMAN standard is an interoperable broadband fixed wirelessaccess standard for systems operating at radio frequencies between 2 GHzand 11 GHz.

The IEEE 802.16a, 802.16e and 802.16g standards are incorporated hereinby reference. More information on WiMAX can be found at the domain name“www.wimaxforum.org.” WiMAX can be used to provide a WLP.

The ETSI HIPERMAN standards TR 101 031, TR 101 475, TR 101 493-1 throughTR 101 493-3, TR 101 761-1 through TR 101 761-4, TR 101 762, TR 101763-1 through TR 101 763-3 and TR 101 957 are incorporated herein byreference. More information on ETSI standards can be found at the domainname “www.etsi.org.” ETSI HIPERMAN can be used to provide a WLP.

In one embodiment, the plural server network devices 20, 22, 24, 26include a connection to plural network interface cards (NICs) in abackplane connected to a communications bus. The NIC cards providegigabit/second (1×10⁹ bits/second) communications speed of electronicinformation. This allows “scaling out” for fast electronic contentretrieval. The NICs are connected to the plural server network devices20, 22, 24, 26 and the cloud communications network 18. However, thepresent invention is not limited to the NICs described and other typesof NICs in other configurations and connections with and/or without abuses can also be used to practice the invention.

In one embodiment, network devices 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26 and wiredand wireless interfaces including the NICs include “4G” components. “4G”refers to the fourth generation of wireless communications standards andspeeds of 100 megabits/second to gigabits/second or more. 4G includespeak speed requirements for 4G service at least 100 Mbit/s for highmobility communication (e.g., trains, vehicles, etc.) and 1 Gbit/s forlow mobility communication (e.g., pedestrians and stationary users,etc.).

4G technologies are a successor to 3G and 2G standards. The nomenclatureof the generations generally refers to a change in the fundamentalnature of the service. The first was the move from analogue (1G) todigital (2G) transmission. This was followed by multi-media support,spread spectrum transmission and at least 200 kbits/second (3G). The 4GNICs include IP packet-switched NICs, wired and wireless ultra-broadband(i.e., gigabit speed) access NICs, Worldwide Interoperability forMicrowave Access (WiMAX) NICs WiMAX Long Term Evolution (LTE) and/ormulti-carrier transmission NICs. However, the present invention is notlimited to this embodiment and 1G, 2G and 3G and/or any combinationthereof, with or with 4G NICs can be used to practice the invention.

In one embodiment of the invention, the WiMAX interfaces includes WiMAX4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) interfaces. The ITU announced in December2010 that WiMAX and LTE are 4G technologies. One of the benefits of 4GLTE is the ability to take advantage of advanced topology networksincluding those on cloud communications networks 18 such as optimizedheterogeneous networks with a mix of macrocells with low power nodessuch as picocells, femtocells and new relay nodes. LTE further improvesthe capacity and coverage, and helps ensures user fairness. 4G LTE alsointroduces multicarrier technologies for ultra-wide bandwidth use, up to100 MHz of spectrum supporting very high data rates.

In one embodiment, of the invention, the wireless interfaces alsoinclude wireless personal area network (WPAN) interfaces. As is known inthe art, a WPAN is a personal area network for interconnecting devicescentered around an individual person's devices in which the connectionsare wireless. A WPAN interconnects all the ordinary computing andcommunicating devices that a person has on their desk (e.g. computer,etc.) or carry with them (e.g., PDA, mobile phone, smart phone, tablecomputer two-way pager, etc.)

A key concept in WPAN technology is known as “plugging in.” In the idealscenario, when any two WPAN-equipped devices come into close proximity(within several meters and/or feet of each other) or within a few milesand/or kilometers of a central server (not illustrated), they cancommunicate via wireless communications as if connected by a cable. WPANdevices can also lock out other devices selectively, preventing needlessinterference or unauthorized access to secure information. Zigbee is onewireless protocol used on WPAN networks such as cloud communicationsnetwork 18.

The one or more target network devices 12, 14, 16 and one or more servernetwork devices 20, 22, 24, 26 also communicate with each other andother network devices with near field communications (NFC) and/ormachine-to-machine (M2M) communications.

“Near field communication (NFC)” is a set of standards for smartphonesand similar devices to establish radio communication with each other bytouching them together or bringing them into close proximity, usually nomore than a few centimeters. Present and anticipated applicationsinclude contactless transactions, data exchange, and simplified setup ofmore complex communications such as Wi-Fi. Communication is alsopossible between an NFC device and an unpowered NFC chip, called a “tag”including radio frequency identifier (RFID) 99 tags.

NFC standards cover communications protocols and data exchange formats,and are based on existing radio-frequency identification (RFID)standards including ISO/IEC 14443 and FeliCa. These standards includeISO/IEC 1809 and those defined by the NFC Forum, all of which areincorporated by reference.

“Machine to machine (M2M)” refers to technologies that allow bothwireless and wired systems to communicate with other devices of the sameability. M2M uses a device to capture an event (such as option purchase,etc.), which is relayed through a network (wireless, wired cloud, etc.)to an application (software program), that translates the captured eventinto meaningful information. Such communication was originallyaccomplished by having a remote network of machines relay informationback to a central hub for analysis, which would then be rerouted into asystem like a personal computer.

However, modern M2M communication has expanded beyond a one-to-oneconnection and changed into a system of networks that transmits datamany-to-one and many-to-many to plural different types of devices andappliances. The expansion of IP networks across the world has made itfar easier for M2M communication to take place and has lessened theamount of power and time necessary for information to be communicatedbetween machines.

Short Message Service (SMS) is a text messaging service component ofphone, Web, or mobile communication systems. It uses standardizedcommunications protocols to allow fixed line or mobile phone devices toexchange short text messages.

SMS messages were defined in 1985 as part of the Global System forMobile Communications (GSM) series of standards as a means of sendingmessages of up to 160 characters to and from GSM mobile handsets. Thoughmost SMS messages are mobile-to-mobile text messages, support for theservice has expanded to include other mobile technologies, such as ANSICDMA networks and Digital AMPS as well as satellite and landlinenetworks.

However, the present invention is not limited to such wirelessinterfaces and wireless networks and more, fewer and/or other wirelessinterfaces can be used to practice the invention.

Exemplary Wired Interfaces

In one embodiment of the present invention, the wired interfaces includewired interfaces and corresponding networking protocols for wiredconnections to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and/or acable television network (CATV) and/or satellite television networks(SATV) and/or three-dimensional television (3DTV), including HDTV, theInternet 76, other networks 72, 74, 78, etc. that connect the networkdevices 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26 via one or more twisted pairs ofcopper wires, digital subscriber lines (e.g. DSL, ADSL, VDSL, etc.)coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, other connection media or otherconnection interfaces. The PSTN is any public switched telephone networkprovided by AT&T, GTE, Sprint, MCI, SBC, Verizon and others. The CATV isany cable television network provided by the Comcast, Time Warner, etc.However, the present invention is not limited to such wired interfacesand more, fewer and/or other wired interfaces can be used to practicethe invention.

Television Services

In one embodiment, the cloud applications 30, 30′ provide cloudgeofencing services from television services over the cloudcommunications network 18. The television services include digitaltelevision services, including, but not limited to, cable television,satellite television, high-definition television, three-dimensional,televisions and other types of network devices.

However, the present invention is not limited to such televisionservices and more, fewer and/or other television services can be used topractice the invention.

Internet Television Services

In one embodiment, the cloud applications 30, 30′ provide cloudgeofencing services from Internet television services over the cloudcommunications network 18. The television services include Internettelevision, Web-TV, and/or Internet Protocol Television (IPtv) and/orother broadcast television services.

“Internet television” allows users to choose a program or the televisionshow they want to watch from an archive of programs or from a channeldirectory. The two forms of viewing Internet television are streamingcontent directly to a media player or simply downloading a program to aviewer's set-top box, game console, computer, or other mesh networkdevice.

“Web-TV” delivers digital content via non-mesh broadband and mobilenetworks. The digital content is streamed to a viewer's set-top box,game console, computer, or other mesh network device.

“Internet Protocol television (IPtv)” is a system through which Internettelevision services are delivered using the architecture and networkingmethods of the Internet Protocol Suite over a packet-switched networkinfrastructure, e.g., the Internet and broadband Internet accessnetworks, instead of being delivered through traditional radio frequencybroadcast, satellite signal, and cable television formats.

However, the present invention is not limited to such InternetTelevision services and more, fewer and/or other Internet Televisionservices can be used to practice the invention.

General Search Engine Services

In one embodiment, the cloud applications 30, 30′ provide cloudgeofencing services from general search engine services. A search engineis designed to search for information on a cloud communications network18 such as the Internet including World Wide Web servers, HTTP, FTPservers etc. The search results are generally presented in a list ofelectronic results. The information may consist of web pages, images,electronic information, multimedia information, and other types offiles. Some search engines also mine data available in databases or opendirectories. Unlike web directories, which are maintained by humaneditors, search engines typically operate algorithmically and/or are amixture of algorithmic and human input.

In one embodiment, the cloud applications 30, 30′ provide cloudgeofencing services from general search engine services. In anotherembodiment, the cloud applications 30, 30′ provide general search engineservices by interacting with one or more other public search engines(e.g., GOOGLE, BING, YAHOO, etc.) and/or private search engine services.

In another embodiment, the cloud applications 30, 30′ provide geofencingservices from specialized search engine services, such as verticalsearch engine services by interacting with one or more other publicvertical search engines (e.g., GALAXY.COM, etc.) and/or private searchengine services

However, the present invention is not limited to such general and/orvertical search engine services and more, fewer and/or other generalsearch engine services can be used to practice the invention.

Social Networking Services

In one embodiment, the cloud applications 30, 30′ provide cloudgeofencing services from one more social networking services includingto/from one or more social networking web-sites (e.g., FACEBOOK,YOU-TUBE, TWITTER, MY-SPACE, etc.). The social networking web-sites alsoinclude, but are not limited to, social couponing sites, datingweb-sites, blogs, RSS feeds, and other types of information web-sites inwhich messages can be left or posted for a variety of social activities.

However, the present invention is not limited to the social networkingservices described and other public and private social networkingservices can also be used to practice the invention.

Security and Encryption

Network devices 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26 with wired and/or wirelessinterfaces of the present invention include one or more of the securityand encryptions techniques discussed herein for secure communications onthe cloud communications network 18.

Application programs 58 (FIG. 2) include security and/or encryptionapplication programs integral to and/or separate from the cloudapplications 30, 30′ Security and/or encryption programs may also existin hardware components on the network devices (12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24,26) described herein and/or exist in a combination of hardware, softwareand/or firmware.

Wireless Encryption Protocol (WEP) (also called “Wired EquivalentPrivacy) is a security protocol for WiLANs defined in the IEEE 802.11bstandard. WEP is cryptographic privacy algorithm, based on the RivestCipher 4 (RC4) encryption engine, used to provide confidentiality for802.11b wireless data.

RC4 is cipher designed by RSA Data Security, Inc. of Bedford, Mass.,which can accept encryption keys of arbitrary length, and is essentiallya pseudo random number generator with an output of the generator beingXORed with a data stream to produce encrypted data.

One problem with WEP is that it is used at the two lowest layers of theOSI model, the physical layer and the data link layer, therefore, itdoes not offer end-to-end security. One another problem with WEP is thatits encryption keys are static rather than dynamic. To update WEPencryption keys, an individual has to manually update a WEP key. WEPalso typically uses 40-bit static keys for encryption and thus provides“weak encryption,” making a WEP device a target of hackers.

The IEEE 802.11 Working Group is working on a security upgrade for the802.11 standard called “802.11i.” This supplemental draft standard isintended to improve WiLAN security. It describes the encryptedtransmission of data between systems 802.11X WiLANs. It also defines newencryption key protocols including the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol(TKIP). The IEEE 802.11i draft standard, version 4, completed Jun. 6,2003, is incorporated herein by reference.

The 802.11i is based on 802.1x port-based authentication for user anddevice authentication. The 802.11i standard includes two maindevelopments: Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) and Robust Security Network(RSN).

WPA uses the same RC4 underlying encryption algorithm as WEP. However,WPA uses TKIP to improve security of keys used with WEP. WPA keys arederived and rotated more often than WEP keys and thus provide additionalsecurity. WPA also adds a message-integrity-check function to preventpacket forgeries.

RSN uses dynamic negotiation of authentication and selectable encryptionalgorithms between wireless access points and wireless devices. Theauthentication schemes proposed in the draft standard include ExtensibleAuthentication Protocol (EAP). One proposed encryption algorithm is anAdvanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption algorithm.

Dynamic negotiation of authentication and encryption algorithms lets RSNevolve with the state of the art in security, adding algorithms toaddress new threats and continuing to provide the security necessary toprotect information that WiLANs carry.

The NIST developed a new encryption standard, the Advanced EncryptionStandard (AES) to keep government information secure. AES is intended tobe a stronger, more efficient successor to Triple Data EncryptionStandard (3DES). More information on NIST AES can be found at the domainname “www.nist.gov/aes.”

DES is a popular symmetric-key encryption method developed in 1975 andstandardized by ANSI in 1981 as ANSI X.3.92, the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference. As is known in the art, 3DES is theencrypt-decrypt-encrypt (EDE) mode of the DES cipher algorithm. 3DES isdefined in the ANSI standard, ANSI X9.52-1998, the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference. DES modes of operation are used inconjunction with the NIST Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS)for data encryption (FIPS 46-3, October 1999), the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

The NIST approved a FIPS for the AES, FIPS-197. This standard specified“Rijndael” encryption as a FIPS-approved symmetric encryption algorithmthat may be used by U.S. Government organizations (and others) toprotect sensitive information. The NIST FIPS-197 standard (AES FIPS PUB197, November 2001) is incorporated herein by reference.

The NIST approved a FIPS for U.S. Federal Government requirements forinformation technology products for sensitive but unclassified (SBU)communications. The NIST FIPS Security Requirements for CryptographicModules (FIPS PUB 140-2, May 2001) is incorporated herein by reference.

RSA is a public key encryption system which can be used both forencrypting messages and making digital signatures. The letters RSA standfor the names of the inventors: Rivest, Shamir and Adleman. For moreinformation on RSA, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,405,829, now expired,incorporated herein by reference.

“Hashing” is the transformation of a string of characters into a usuallyshorter fixed-length value or key that represents the original string.Hashing is used to index and retrieve items in a database because it isfaster to find the item using the shorter hashed key than to find itusing the original value. It is also used in many encryption algorithms.

Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA), is used for computing a secure condensedrepresentation of a data message or a data file. When a message of anylength<2⁶⁴ bits is input, the SHA-1 produces a 160-bit output called a“message digest.” The message digest can then be input to other securitytechniques such as encryption, a Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA) andothers which generates or verifies a security mechanism for the message.SHA-512 outputs a 512-bit message digest. The Secure Hash Standard, FIPSPUB 180-1, Apr. 17, 1995, is incorporated herein by reference.

Message Digest-5 (MD-5) takes as input a message of arbitrary length andproduces as output a 128-bit “message digest” of the input. The MD5algorithm is intended for digital signature applications, where a largefile must be “compressed” in a secure manner before being encrypted witha private (secret) key under a public-key cryptosystem such as RSA. TheIETF RFC-1321, entitled “The MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm” isincorporated here by reference.

Providing a way to check the integrity of information transmitted overor stored in an unreliable medium such as a wireless network is a primenecessity in the world of open computing and communications. Mechanismsthat provide such integrity check based on a secret key are called“message authentication codes” (MAC). Typically, message authenticationcodes are used between two parties that share a secret key in order tovalidate information transmitted between these parties.

Keyed Hashing for Message Authentication Codes (HMAC), is a mechanismfor message authentication using cryptographic hash functions. HMAC isused with any iterative cryptographic hash function, e.g., MD5, SHA-1,SHA-512, etc. in combination with a secret shared key. The cryptographicstrength of HMAC depends on the properties of the underlying hashfunction. The IETF RFC-2101, entitled “HMAC: Keyed-Hashing for MessageAuthentication” is incorporated here by reference.

An Electronic Code Book (ECB) is a mode of operation for a “blockcipher,” with the characteristic that each possible block of plaintexthas a defined corresponding cipher text value and vice versa. In otherwords, the same plaintext value will always result in the same ciphertext value. Electronic Code Book is used when a volume of plaintext isseparated into several blocks of data, each of which is then encryptedindependently of other blocks. The Electronic Code Book has the abilityto support a separate encryption key for each block type.

Diffie and Hellman (DH) describe several different group methods for twoparties to agree upon a shared secret in such a way that the secret willbe unavailable to eavesdroppers. This secret is then converted intovarious types of cryptographic keys. A large number of the variants ofthe DH method exist including ANSI X9.42. The IETF RFC-2631, entitled“Diffie-Hellman Key Agreement Method” is incorporated here by reference.

The HyperText Transport Protocol (HTTP) Secure (HTTPs), is a standardfor encrypted communications on the World Wide Web. HTTPs is actuallyjust HTTP over a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). For more information onHTTP, see IETF RFC-2616 incorporated herein by reference.

The SSL protocol is a protocol layer which may be placed between areliable connection-oriented network layer protocol (e.g. TCP/IP) andthe application protocol layer (e.g. HTTP). SSL provides for securecommunication between a source and destination by allowing mutualauthentication, the use of digital signatures for integrity, andencryption for privacy.

The SSL protocol is designed to support a range of choices for specificsecurity methods used for cryptography, message digests, and digitalsignatures. The security method are negotiated between the source anddestination at the start of establishing a protocol session. The SSL 2.0protocol specification, by Kipp E. B. Hickman, 1995 is incorporatedherein by reference. More information on SSL is available at the domainname See “netscape.com/eng/security/SSL_2.html.”

Transport Layer Security (TLS) provides communications privacy over theInternet. The protocol allows client/server applications to communicateover a transport layer (e.g., TCP) in a way that is designed to preventeavesdropping, tampering, or message forgery. For more information onTLS see IETF RFC-2246, incorporated herein by reference.

In one embodiment, the security functionality includes Cisco CompatibleEXtensions (CCX). CCX includes security specifications for makers of802.11xx wireless LAN chips for ensuring compliance with Cisco'sproprietary wireless security LAN protocols. As is known in the art,Cisco Systems, Inc. of San Jose, Calif. is supplier of networkinghardware and software, including router and security products.

However, the present invention is not limited to such security andencryption methods described herein and more, fewer and/or other typesof security and encryption methods can be used to practice theinvention. The security and encryption methods described herein can alsobe used in various combinations and/or in different layers of theprotocol stack 38 with each other.

Cloud Computing Networks

FIG. 4 is a block diagram 60 illustrating an exemplary cloud computingnetwork 18. The cloud computing network 18 is also referred to as a“cloud communications network” 18. However, the present invention is notlimited to this cloud computing model and other cloud computing modelscan also be used to practice the invention. The exemplary cloudcommunications network includes both wired and/or wireless components ofpublic and private networks.

In one embodiment, the cloud computing network 18 includes a cloudcommunications network 18 comprising plural different cloud componentnetworks 72, 74, 76, 78. “Cloud computing” is a model for enabling,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g., public and private networks, servers, storage,applications, and services) that are shared, rapidly provisioned andreleased with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.

This exemplary cloud computing model for electronic informationretrieval promotes availability for shared resources and comprises: (1)cloud computing essential characteristics; (2) cloud computing servicemodels; and (3) cloud computing deployment models. However, the presentinvention is not limited to this cloud computing model and other cloudcomputing models can also be used to practice the invention.

Exemplary cloud computing essential characteristics appear in Table 1.However, the present invention is not limited to these essentialcharacteristics and more, fewer or other characteristics can also beused to practice the invention.

TABLE 1 On-demand geofencing services. Geofence location and batterymanagement services can unilaterally provision computing capabilities,such as server time and network storage, as needed automatically withoutrequiring human interaction with each network server on the cloudcommunications network 18. Broadband network access. Geofencing locationand battery management capabilities are available over plural broadbandcommunications networks and accessed through standard mechanisms thatpromote use by heterogeneous thin or thick client platforms (e.g.,mobile phones, smart phones 14, tablet computers 12, laptops, PDAs,etc.). The broadband network access includes high speed network accesssuch as 3G and/or 4G, and/or 5G wireless and/or wired and broadbandand/or ultra-broad band (e.g., WiMAX, etc.) network access. Resourcepooling. Geofencing location and battery management service resourcesare pooled to serve multiple requesters using a multi-tenant model, withdifferent physical and virtual resources dynamically assigned andreassigned according to geofencing location and battery managementservice demand. There is location independence in that a requester ofelectronic content has no control and/or knowledge over the exactlocation of the provided by the geofencing and battery managementlocation service resources but may be able to specify location at ahigher level of abstraction (e.g., country, state, or data center).Examples of pooled resources include storage, processing, memory,network bandwidth, virtual server network device and virtual targetnetwork devices. Rapid elasticity. Capabilities can be rapidly andelastically provisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scaleout and rapidly released to quickly scale for geofencing location andbattery management services. To the electronic content storage andretrievers, the geofencing location and battery management capabilitiesavailable for provisioning appear to be unlimited and can be used in anyquantity at any time. Measured Services. Cloud computing systemsautomatically control and optimize resource use by leveraging a meteringcapability at some level of abstraction appropriate to the type ofgeofencing location and battery management service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, custom geofencing location and battery managementapplications, etc.). Geofencing location and battery management usage ismonitored, controlled, and reported providing transparency for both theelectronic content provider and the electronic content requester of theutilized electronic content storage retrieval service.

Exemplary cloud computing service models illustrated in FIG. 4 appear inTable 2. However, the present invention is not limited to these servicemodels and more, fewer or other service models can also be used topractice the invention.

TABLE 2 Cloud Computing Software Applications 62 for a GeofencingLocation and Battery Management Service (CCSA 64). The capability to usethe provider's applications 30, 30′ running on a cloud infrastructure66. The cloud computing applications 62, are accessible from the servernetwork device 20 from various client devices 12, 14, 16, 21, 23 througha thin client interface such as a web browser, etc. The user does notmanage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure 66 includingnetwork, servers, operating systems, storage, or even individualapplication 30, 30′ capabilities, with the possible exception of limiteduser-specific application configuration settings. Cloud ComputingInfrastructure 66 for a Geofencing Location and Battery ManagementService (CCI 68). The capability provided to the user is to provisionprocessing, storage and retrieval, networks 18, 72, 74, 76, 78 and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications 30, 30′. The user does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure 66 but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls, etc.). Cloud Computing Platform 70 forthe a Geofencing Location and Battery Management Service (CCP 71). Thecapability provided to the user to deploy onto the cloud infrastructure66 created or acquired applications created using programming languagesand tools supported servers 20, 22, 24, 26, etc.. The user not manage orcontrol the underlying cloud infrastructure 66 including network,servers, operating systems, or storage, but has control over thedeployed applications 30, 30′ and possibly application hostingenvironment configurations.

Exemplary cloud computing deployment models appear in Table 3. However,the present invention is not limited to these deployment models andmore, fewer or other deployment models can also be used to practice theinvention.

TABLE 3 Private cloud network 72. The cloud network infrastructure isoperated solely for a geofencing location and batter managementservices. It may be managed by the geofencing location and batterymanagement service provider or a third party and may exist on premise oroff premise. Community cloud network 74. The cloud networkinfrastructure is shared by several different organizations and supportsa specific geofencing location and battery management community that hasshared concerns (e.g., mission, security requirements, policy,compliance considerations, etc.). It may be managed by the differentorganizations or a third party and may exist on premise or off premise.Public cloud network 76. The cloud network infrastructure such as theInternet, PSTN, SATV, CATV, Internet TV, etc. is made available to thegeneral public or a large industry group and is owned by one or moreorganizations selling cloud services. Hybrid cloud network 78. The cloudnetwork infrastructure 66 is a composition of two and/or more cloudnetworks 18 (e.g., private 72, community 74, and/or public 76, etc.)and/or two or more other types of public and/or private networks (e.g.,intranets, etc.) that remain unique entities but are bound together bystandardized or proprietary technology that enables data and applicationportability (e.g., cloud bursting for load-balancing between clouds,etc.)

Cloud software 64 for geofencing takes full advantage of the cloudparadigm by being service oriented with a focus on statelessness, lowcoupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability for electroniccontent retrieval. However, cloud software services 64 can includevarious states.

Cloud storage of desired electronic content on a cloud computing networkincludes agility, scalability, elasticity and multi-tenancy. Although astorage foundation may be comprised of block storage or file storagesuch as that exists on conventional networks, cloud storage is typicallyexposed to requesters of desired electronic content as cloud objects.

In one exemplary embodiment, the cloud application 30′, offers cloudservices for geofencing location and battery management services. Theapplication 30, 30′ offers the cloud computing Infrastructure 66, 68 asa Service 62 (IaaS), including a cloud software infrastructure service62, the cloud Platform 70, 71 as a Service 62 (PaaS) including a cloudsoftware platform service 62 and/or offers Specific cloud softwareservices as a Service 62 (SaaS) including a specific cloud softwareservice 62 for geofence location and battery management services. TheIaaS, PaaS and SaaS include one or more of cloud services 62 comprisingnetworking, storage, server network device, virtualization, operatingsystem, middleware, run-time, data and/or application services, orplural combinations thereof, on the cloud communications network 18.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram 80 illustrating an exemplary cloud storageobject 82.

The cloud storage object 82 includes an envelope portion 84, with aheader portion 86, and a body portion 88. However, the present inventionis not limited to such a cloud storage object 82 and other cloud storageobjects and other cloud storage objects with more, fewer or otherportions can also be used to practice the invention.

The envelope portion 84 uses unique namespace Uniform ResourceIdentifiers (URIs) and/or Uniform Resource Names (URNs), and/or UniformResource Locators (URLs) unique across the cloud communications network18 to uniquely specify, location and version information and encodingrules used by the cloud storage object 82 across the whole cloudcommunications network 18. For more information, see IETF RFC-3305,Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs), URLs, and Uniform Resource Names(URNs), the contents of which are incorporated by reference.

The envelope portion 84 of the cloud storage object 82 is followed by aheader portion 86. The header portion 86 includes extended informationabout the cloud storage objects such as authorization and/or transactioninformation, etc.

The body portion 88 includes methods 90 (i.e., a sequence ofinstructions, etc.) for using embedded application-specific data in dataelements 92. The body portion 88 typically includes only one portion ofplural portions of application-specific data 92 and independent data 94so the cloud storage object 82 can provide distributed, redundant faulttolerant, security and privacy features described herein.

Cloud storage objects 82 have proven experimentally to be a highlyscalable, available and reliable layer of abstraction that alsominimizes the limitations of common file systems. Cloud storage objects82 also provide low latency and low storage and transmission costs.

Cloud storage objects 82 are comprised of many distributed resources,but function as a single storage object, are highly fault tolerantthrough redundancy and provide distribution of desired electroniccontent across public communication networks 76, and one or more privatenetworks 72, community networks 74 and hybrid networks 78 of the cloudcommunications network 18. Cloud storage objects 82 are also highlydurable because of creation of copies of portions of desired electroniccontent across such networks 72, 74, 76, 78 of the cloud communicationsnetwork 18. Cloud storage objects 82 includes one or more portions ofdesired electronic content and can be stored on any of the 72, 74, 76,78 networks of the cloud communications network 18. Cloud storageobjects 82 are transparent to a requester of desired electronic contentand are managed by cloud applications 30, 30′.

In one embodiment, cloud storage objects 82 are configurable arbitraryobjects with a size up to hundreds of terabytes, each accompanied bywith a few kilobytes of metadata. Cloud objects are organized into andidentified by a unique identifier unique across the whole cloudcommunications network 18. However, the present invention is not limitedto the cloud storage objects described, and more fewer and other typesof cloud storage objects can be used to practice the invention.

Cloud storage objects 82 present a single unified namespace orobject-space and manages desired electronic content by user oradministrator-defined policies storage and retrieval policies. Cloudstorage objects includes Representational state transfer (REST), SimpleObject Access Protocol (SOAP), Lightweight Directory Access Protocol(LDAP) and/or Application Programming Interface (API) objects and/orother types of cloud storage objects. However, the present invention isnot limited to the cloud storage objects described, and more fewer andother types of cloud storage objects can be used to practice theinvention.

REST is a protocol specification that characterizes and constrainsmacro-interactions storage objects of the four components of a cloudcommunications network 18, namely origin servers, gateways, proxies andclients, without imposing limitations on the individual participants.

SOAP is a protocol specification for exchanging structured informationin the implementation of cloud services with storage objects. SOAP hasat least three major characteristics: (1) Extensibility (includingsecurity/encryption, routing, etc.); (2) Neutrality (SOAP can be usedover any transport protocol such as HTTP, SMTP or even TCP, etc.), and(3) Independence (SOAP allows for almost any programming model to beused, etc.)

LDAP is a software protocol for enabling storage and retrieval ofelectronic content and other resources such as files and devices on thecloud communications network 18. LDAP is a “lightweight” version ofDirectory Access Protocol (DAP), which is part of X.500, a standard fordirectory services in a network. LDAP may be used with X.509 securityand other security methods for secure storage and retrieval. X.509 ispublic key digital certificate standard developed as part of the X.500directory specification. X.509 is used for secure management anddistribution of digitally signed certificates across networks.

An API is a particular set of rules and specifications that softwareprograms can follow to communicate with each other. It serves as aninterface between different software programs and facilitates theirinteraction.

Geofencing

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary geofencing system;

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a space-based global navigationsatellite system (GNSS) that provides reliable location and timeinformation in all weather and at all times and anywhere on or near theEarth. A GPS receiver 98 calculates its position by precisely timingsignals sent by GPS satellites 100 (only one of which is illustrated).The GPS receiver 98 uses the messages it receives to determine a transittime of each message and computes a distance to each GPS satellite 100.These distances along with the satellites' locations are used with thepossible aid of triangulation, depending on which algorithm is used, tocompute a current physical position 102 of the GPS receiver 98 and hencea vehicle 104. This position is then displayed on an external device 12,12′, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26, perhaps with a moving map display (e.g., ata street level, etc.) and/or latitude and longitude and/or elevationand/or speed and/or acceleration information may also be included. ManyGPS units also show derived information such as travel direction andspeed, calculated from position changes. The GPS coordinates includestandard GPS, GPS map, Digital GPS (DGPS) and/or other types of GPSinformation.

The GPS interface 98 is used for “geo-fencing.” A “geo-fence” 106 is avirtual perimeter for a real-world geographic area. A geo-fence 106 isdynamically generated—as in a radius around a point location. Thegeo-fence 106 is also statically defined as a predefined set ofboundaries.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are a flow diagram illustrating a Method 108 forgeofencing. In FIG. 7A at Step 110, one or more first messages arereceived on a location application on a server network device with oneor more processors via a cloud communications network comprising one ormore public, private, community or hybrid networks, from a geofenceapplication on a network device with one or more processors. The one ormore first messages include geofence information with coordinates forone or more geofences and one or more unique identifiers for one or morevehicles each with one or more processors. At Step 112, geofenceinformation from the one or more first messages is stored with thelocation application on the server network device in one or moredatabases on the cloud communications network associated with the servernetwork device. At Step 114, periodically the location application onthe server network device securely sends one or more second messages tothe one or more vehicles to determine a current location of the one ormore vehicles and whether the one or more vehicle are not moving. AtStep 116, one or more third messages are securely received on thelocation application on the server network device from any of the one ormore vehicles including that are not moving including current locationinformation for the one or more vehicles. In FIG. 7B at Step 118,determining from the location application on the server network devicewith the current location information from the one or more thirdmessages and the geofence information stored in the one or moredatabases whether any of the vehicles that are not moving are physicallylocated within any of the one or more geofences. If any of the vehiclesare not moving, at Step 120, one or more fourth messages are securelysent from the location application on the server network device to thegeofence application on the network device indicating which of the oneor more vehicles is physically located within which geofence, therebypreventing any unnecessary financial charges for keeping a selectedvehicle inside a selected geofence.

In one specific embodiment, Method 108 further includes additional Steps120-A and 120-B. At Step 120-A the location application 30′ on theserver network device 20, 22, 24, 26 automatically records a cumulativetime period duration with information from the one or more secondmessages and/or the one or more third messages and/or the one ordatabases 20′, 22′, 24′, 26 and a cumulative financial charge for anyvehicle 104 that is stationary and physically located in any geofence106, thereby reducing and/or preventing any fraudulent financial chargesfor keeping any of the one or more vehicles 104 inside any of the one ormore geofences 106. In one embodiment, daily charge rates for eachgeofence 106 are received at Step 110 and stored at Step 112. In such anembodiment, a cumulative financial charge total 135 is also calculatedby the location application 30′ on the server network device 20, 22, 24,26. Thus cumulative financial charge 135 (e.g., $417, FIG. 10, etc.) canalso be displayed during Step 120-B. This also helps to reduce and/orprevent fraudulent financial charges for keeping any of the one or morevehicles 104 inside any of the one or more geofences 106. However, thepresent invention is not limited to this additional calculation and thecurrent invention can be practiced with and/or without these additionalsteps. At Step 120-B the location application 30′ on the server networkdevice 20, 22, 24, 26 sends the recorded time periods 133 (e.g., 2 days,11 hours 11 minutes, FIG. 10, etc.) for the vehicles 104 to the geofenceapplication 30 on the target network device 12, 14, 16 for display onthe GUI 34 and/or on the graphical maps 128. However, the presentinvention is not limited to this specific embodiment and the currentinvention can be practiced with and/or without these additional steps.

Method 108 is illustrated with an exemplary embodiment. The presentinvention is not limited to this exemplary embodiment and otherembodiments can be used to practice the invention.

In such an exemplary embodiment at FIG. 7A at Step 110, one or morefirst messages are received on a location application 30′ on a servernetwork device 20, 22, 24, 26 with one or more processors via a cloudcommunications network 18 comprising one or more public 76, private 72,community 74 and/or hybrid networks 78, from a geofence application30/30′ on a network device 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26 with one or moreprocessors. The one or more first messages include coordinates for oneor more geofences 106 and one or more unique identifiers 105 for one ormore vehicles 104 each with one or more processors. The network deviceincludes one or more target network devices 12, 14, 16, and/or or moreserver network devices 20, 22, 24, 26, and/or one or more other types ofnetwork devices, each with one or more processors.

In one embodiment, the unique identifiers 105 for the vehicles 104include, but are not limited to, Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs)and/or Uniform Resource Names (URNs), and/or Uniform Resource Locators(URLs) unique across the cloud communications network 18, and/or vehiclelicense numbers, vehicle identification numbers (VINs) and/or otherunique vehicles identifiers. However, the present invention is notlimited to these unique identifiers and other unique identifiers canalso be used to practice the invention.

In one embodiment, the one or more vehicles 104, include, but are notlimited to, cars, trucks, boats, snow machines, bicycles, motorcycles,construction vehicles, etc. In another embodiment, invention furtherincludes, non-vehicle entities, such as sports equipment, tools, etc.However, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments andother embodiments can be used to practice the invention.

In one embodiment, the one or more geofences 106 include geofences 106for car dealers, finance companies, towing companies, repossessioncompanies, law enforcement entities, military entities, governmentagency entities and/or other entities. However, the present invention isnot limited to such embodiments and other embodiments can be used topractice the invention.

In one embodiment, network devices 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26 includeand the one or more vehicles 104 include one or more wirelesscommunications interface comprising: cellular telephone, 802.11a,802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.15.4 (ZigBee), “Wireless Fidelity”(Wi-Fi), Wi-Fi Aware, “Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access”(WiMAX), ETSI High Performance Radio Metropolitan Area Network(HIPERMAN), Near Field Communications (NFC), Machine-to-Machine (M2M),Bluetooth or infra data association (IrDA) wireless communicationinterfaces. However, the present invention is not limited to suchembodiments and other embodiments can be used to practice the invention.

In one embodiment, when a vehicle 104 is collected (e.g., via arepossession, tow, etc.) a non-integral and/or non-on-board and/orportable Global Positioning System (GPS) apparatus 98′, and/or aportable vehicle on-board diagnostics (OBD) apparatus, OBD-2 apparatus136 (FIGS. 11-13) and/or a radio frequency identifier (RFID) tag/sensor99 and/or a target network device 12, 14, 16 with geofence application30 and/or GPS functionality is added to the vehicle 104 to allow it tobe more easily tracked as it enters a geofence 106. In anotherembodiment, the collected vehicle 104 already has such communicationscomponents included in and/or on and/or integral to the vehicle 104.Such additional devices and/or communication components include theirown power sources that allow the additional devices and/orcommunications components to continue to communicate with the cloudcommunications network 18 and/or other communications network 18′ whenan ignition of the vehicle 104 is off. However, the present invention isnot limited to such an embodiment and other embodiments may be used topractice the invention.

In another embodiment, one or more of the vehicles 104 include thegeofence application 30 and/or location application 30′, acting aseither a target network device and/or a server network device. In suchan embodiment, the vehicle 104 and applications 30/30′ have access totheir own power sources that allow the vehicle and applications 30/30′to continue to communicate with the cloud communications network 18and/or other communications network 18′ when an ignition of the vehicle104 is off. However, the present invention is not limited to such anembodiment and other embodiments may be used to practice the invention.

In another embodiment, another vehicle (e.g., a tow vehicle, etc.) usedto collect the vehicle 104 includes a target network device 12, 14, 16with geofence application 30 and and/or GPS functionality to allow it tobe more easily tracked as the vehicle 104 it is moving/towing etc.enters a geofence 106. However, the present invention is not limited tothese embodiments and can be practiced with and/or without theadditional communications components added to the desired vehicle 104 oradditional communications components or network devices to a towvehicle, etc.

In one embodiment the geofence 106 coordinates include at least fourpieces of location information defining four corners of a geofenceboundary 106. However, the present invention is not limited to such anembodiment and more or fewer pieces of location information can be usedto practice the invention. For example, a given geofence 106 may have anirregular boundary (i.e., not a square, rectangular, etc.) and requiremore pieces (e.g., more for polygon, etc.) of location information todefine the geofence boundary 106.

In one embodiment, the geofence 106 coordinates include GPS coordinates102 (e.g., longitude and latitude, etc.). However, the present inventionis not limited to such an embodiment and other embodiments can be usedto practice the invention.

In another embodiment, the coordinates include, two-dimensionalgeo-space (X,Y) information, three-dimensional (X,Y,Z) geo-spaceinformation, two or more street names, or latitude and longitudecoordinates with and/or without elevation information. However, thepresent invention is not limited to such an embodiment and otherembodiments can be used to practice the invention.

In one embodiment, the one or more geofences 106 include geofences 106for impound yards, parking lots, parking garages with and/or withoutfenced perimeters and/or other security features for vehicles 104 thathave been towed away at the request of a civil party (e.g., car dealer,finance company, etc.), law enforcement, military, government agency,etc. However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodimentand other embodiments can be used to practice the invention.

At Step 112, geofence information including, but not limited to, thegeofence coordinates and the unique identifiers of the one or morevehicles associated with the one or more geofences from the one or morefirst messages is stored with the location application 30 on the servernetwork device 20, 22, 24, 26 in one or more databases 20′, 22′, 24′,26′ on the cloud communications network 18 associated with the servernetwork device 20, 22, 24, 26.

In one embodiment, the one or more second messages or informationincluded therein are stored in one or more cloud storage objects 82 inone or databases 20′, 22′, 24′, 26′ in one or more locations and/or onone or more different networks 72, 74, 76, 78 on the cloudcommunications network 18. However, the present invention is not limitedto such an embodiment, and the invention can be practiced with and/orwithout using cloud storage objects 82 and the information may also bestored in non-cloud storage.

At Step 114, periodically the location application 30′ on the servernetwork device 20, 22, 24, 26 securely sends one or more second messagesto the one or more vehicles 104 to determine a current location 107 ofthe one or more vehicles 104 and whether the one or more vehicles 104are not moving.

In one embodiment, Step 114 includes securely sending the one or moresecond messages periodically based on a first pre-determined timeperiod.

In one embodiment, the first pre-determined time period is two minutes.However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment andother embodiments, with shorter or longer pre-determined time periodscan be used to practice the invention.

In such an embodiment, a current location-X 131 of the vehicle 104 canbe tracked in real-time (i.e., within a few seconds, etc.), and itcurrent and historical movement displayed on a graphical map 128. Thus,if vehicle was required to be immediately located, current locationinformation for the vehicle 104 is at the most two minutes old. However,the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment and otherembodiments may be used to practice the invention.

In one embodiment, the one or more second messages are periodically sentvia the first pre-determined time period whenever a vehicle 104 is stillin motion. The vehicle 104 may be in motion because the vehicle has itsignition on and is being driven and/or the vehicle is being towed (e.g.,pushed, pulled, transported on another vehicle, etc.). In such anembodiment, a communication component in the vehicle (e.g., 30, 12, 14,16 with 30, 30′, 98, 98′, 136, etc.) is either using a power source fromthe vehicle 106 or its own internal power source to receive and sendlocation information. However, the present invention is not limited tosuch an embodiment and other embodiments may be used to practice theinvention.

At Step 114, the one or more second messages are periodically andsecurely sent using any of the security and/or encryption methodsdescribed herein to prevent hacking and/or tampering with the one ormore second messages on the cloud communications network 18 bythird-parties.

At Step 116, one or more third messages are securely received on thelocation application 30′ on the server network device 20, 22, 24, 26from any of the one or more vehicles 104 including that are not movingincluding current location information for the one or more vehicles.

At Step 116, the one or more third messages are periodically andsecurely received using any of the security and/or encryption methodsdescribed herein to prevent hacking and/or tampering with the one ormore third messages on the cloud communications network 18 bythird-parties.

In one embodiment, information from the one or more third messages arestored by the location application 30′ on the server network device 20,22, 24, 26 in the one or more databases 20′, 22′, 24′, 26′ in one ormore cloud storage objects 82 and/or in one or more non-cloud storageobjects on the cloud communications network 18. In such an embodiment,the stored location information provides current and historical movementof vehicles 104 that can be used displayed in real-time or non-real-timeon a graphical map 128.

In one embodiment, the one or more third messages are sent by a GPSreceiver 98 in the vehicle 104. The GPS receiver 98 may be integral toand/or an add-on 98′ component to the vehicle 104. However, the presentinvention is not limited to these embodiments, and other embodiments canbe used to practice the invention.

In another embodiment, the one or more third messages are securely sentby a GPS component via a GPS, cellular, geofence application 30, and/orother application in a first target network device 12, 14, 16, includedin the vehicle 104. However, the present invention is not limited tothese embodiments, and other embodiments can be used to practice theinvention.

In another embodiment, the one or more third messages are securely sentby a location application 30′ in one or more communications components101, 101′ (e.g., GPS, cellular, 802.11x, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Aware, NFC, M2M,etc.) each with one or more processors located within a geofence 106. Insuch an embodiment, the vehicle 104 automatically triggers sending ofthe one or more third messages when the vehicle 104 enters (e.g., isdriven in, is towed in, etc.) a given geofence 106. However, the presentinvention is not limited to such an embodiment and other embodiments canbe used to practice the invention.

In one embodiment, Step 116 includes securely receiving the one or morethird messages including one or more messages generated by one or morewireless Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, Wireless Fidelity(Wi-Fi) signals, Wi-Fi Aware signals, Bluetooth signals, near fieldcommunications (NFC) signal, machine-to-machine (M2M) communicationssignal, radio frequency identifier (RFID) signal, or cell tower signalsbeing sent from the one or more vehicles. However, the present inventionis not limited to these embodiments, and other embodiments can be usedto practice the invention.

In another embodiment, the one or more third messages 13/15 are securelysent from a specific vehicle 104 when the specific vehicle 104 hasstopped all motion and is stationary and whose ignition is off, and hascrossed a specific geofence 106 boundary. In such an embodiment, avehicle application 30 on the vehicle 104 are in communications with acommunication component (e.g., GPS 98′, etc.) added to the vehicle 104has its own power source and only securely sends the one or more thirdmessages when the ignition turn off event and the no additional motionare detected. The one or more third messages 13/15 are then sent.However, the present invention is not limited to such messages and othermessages can be used to practice the invention.

In FIG. 7B at Step 118, the location application 30′ on the servernetwork device 20, 22, 24, 26 determines with the current locationinformation from the one or more third messages and the geofencelocation information stored in the one or more database whether any ofthe vehicles 104 that are not moving are physically located within anyof the one or more geofences 106.

In one embodiment, at Step 118, the location application 30′ on theserver network device 20, 22, 24, 26 compares current locationinformation 102 for the one or more vehicles 104 to location informationfor the one or more geofences 106 stored in the cloud storage objects inthe one or more databases 20′, 22′, 24′, 26′ on the cloud communicationsnetwork 18.

For example, a current location for a selected vehicle 104 may includeGPS information 102 comprising Latitude:N 33° 28′ 8.3493″ Longitude:W117° 40′ 24.2016″ Latitude:N 33° 28.139155′ Longitude:W 117° 40.403359′for a selected geofence defined by Latitude:N 33° 28′ 8.3492″Longitude:W 117° 40′ 24.2015″ Latitude:N 33° 28.139156′ Longitude:W 117°40.403360′. Using such GPS information 102, the location application 30′on the server network device 20, 22, 24, 26, is able to determine thatselected vehicle 104 is within geofence 106. However, the presentinvention is not limited to such messages and other messages can be usedto practice the invention.

In another example, a current location for a selected vehicle 104 mayinclude location information comprising 3D geo-space coordinates (111,253, 617), (112, 245, 617), (113, 246, 618) (114, 247, 619) for ageofence 106 defined by 3D geo-space coordinates (111, 253, 617), (122,255, 627), (123, 256, 628) (124, 257, 629). However, the presentinvention is not limited to such messages and other messages can be usedto practice the invention.

If any of the vehicles 104 are not moving and located with any geofence106, at Step 120, one or more fourth messages are securely sent from thelocation application 30′ on the server network device 20, 22, 24, 26 tothe geofence application 30/30′ on the network device 12, 14, 16, 20,22, 24, 26 indicating which of the one or more vehicles 104 isphysically located within which geofence 106, thereby preventing anyunnecessary financial charges for keeping a selected vehicle 104 insidea selected geofence 106.

When an owner of a vehicle 104 is notified at Step 120, the owner canimmediately proceed themselves or send a third-party to the geofences106 (e.g., impound yard, etc.) to collect the vehicles 104 to avoidadditional finance charges.

In one embodiment, the one or more fourth messages 13/15 includes one ormore audio messages, video messages, voice messages, SMS messages (i.e.,text message), instant messages, e-mail messages, social media messages,(e.g., tweet, post, etc.), multi-media messages (e.g., still picture,video, etc.) or other type of messages. The multi-media messagesincludes time-stamped messages. However, the present invention is notlimited to such messages and other messages can be used to practice theinvention.

At Step 120, the one or more fourth messages are periodically andsecurely sent using any of the security and/or encryption methodsdescribed herein to prevent hacking and/or tampering with the one ormore fourth messages on the cloud communications network 18 bythird-parties.

The one or more four messages 13/15 allows a user of the network device12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26 to immediately determine that the vehicle 104has been moved and/or towed to an impound yard inside a geofence 106.Such impound yards typically charge a daily fee and the one or morefourth message allows the user of the device 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26know immediately when their vehicle crosses the geofence 106 for theimpound yard, so it can be timely removed without incurring a largeamount of daily impound fees. However, the present invention is notlimited to such messages and other messages can be used to practice theinvention.

In one embodiment, the one or more fourth messages 13/15 further includeinformation to display on a graphical map 128 on the geofence targetapplication 30 on the target network device 12, 14, 16, or a locationapplication 30′ on a server network device 20, 22, 24, 26 indicating acurrent geographical location of the vehicle 104. However, the presentinvention is not limited to such and embodiment and other embodimentsmay be used to practice the invention.

In one embodiment, at Step 120, the location application 30 on theserver network devices 20, 22, 24, 26 periodically securely sends theone or more fourth messages based a second pre-determined time period tothe geofence application 30/30′ on the network device 12, 14, 16, 20,22, 24, 26 until all of the one or more vehicles 104 physically locatedwithin all of the geofences 106 are physical removed from all of thegeofences 106, thereby preventing unnecessary cumulative financialcharges. However, the present invention is not limited to such messagesand other messages can be used to practice the invention.

In one embodiment, Step 120 includes securely sending the one or morefourth messages periodically based on a second pre-determined timeperiod.

In one embodiment, the second pre-determined time period is a four hourtime period. However, the present invention is not limited to such anembodiment and other embodiments, with shorter or longer pre-determinedtime periods can be used to practice the invention.

In one embodiment, the one or more fourth messages are periodically withsent the second pre-determined time period whenever a vehicle 104 hasstop moving and is stationary. The vehicle 104 is stationary because thevehicle has its ignition off and/or is no longer being driven and/or thevehicle is no longer being towed (e.g., pushed, pulled, transported onanother vehicle, etc.). In such an embodiment, a communication componentin the vehicle (e.g., 30, 12, 14, 16 with 30, 30′, 98, 98′, 136, etc.)is either using a power source from the vehicle 104 that is still usablewhen the vehicle's 104 ignition is off and/or its own power source thatstill is operational when the an ignition of the vehicle 104 is off, toreceive and send location information to the location application 30′ onthe server network device 20, 22, 24, 26. However, the present inventionis not limited to such an embodiment and other embodiments may be usedto practice the invention.

In such an embodiment, the second pre-determined time period is longenough not to overwhelm the network device 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26but at the same time keep the network device 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24, 26aware that one or more vehicles 104 are still physically located withina geofence 106 incurring financial charges. However, the presentinvention is not limited to such an embodiment and other embodiments,with shorter or longer pre-determined time periods can be used topractice the invention.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating a Method 119 for geofencing.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram 126 illustrating geofencing.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram 132 illustrating geofencing.

In FIG. 8, at Step 121, a geofence application on a target networkdevice with one or more processors defines one or more geofences via agraphical user interface (GUI) on a graphical map. At Step 123, thegeofence application on the target network device associates one or morevehicles with the defined one or more geofences via the GUI. At Step125, one or more new geofence messages are sent from the geofenceapplication on the target network device to the location application onthe server network device via the communications network includinggeofence and vehicle information. At Step 127, the geofence applicationon the target network device securely receives one or more new geofencemessages when any of the one or more vehicles is stationary andphysically located any of the one or more defined geofences.

Method 119 is illustrated with an exemplary embodiment. The presentinvention is not limited to this exemplary embodiment and otherembodiments can be used to practice the invention.

In such an exemplary embodiment at Step 121, a geofence application 30on a target network device 12, 14, 16 with one or more processorsdefines 130 one or more geofences 106 via a graphical user interface(GUI) 34 on a graphical map 128.

In embodiment, the GUI 34 displays graphical maps 128. In such anembodiment, a user is able to select with an input device (e.g., mouse,keyboard, finger, stylus, etc.) a geographical boundary 130 for ageofence 106. The geographical boundary includes GPS 102 (e.g.,longitude, latitude, etc.) and/or other types of coordinates. In anotherembodiment the GUI 34 accepts GPS 102 coordinates as electronic text.However, the present invention is not limited to GPS coordinates 102 andother types of coordinates and/or geographical boundaries can be used topractice the invention.

In one embodiment, a user of the target network device 12, 14, 16, isable to graphically draw a shape 130 (e.g., circle, square, rectangle,etc.) around a desired geographical boundary 130 for a geofence 106 viaGUI 34.

In one embodiment, the geofence 106 may be larger than the boundary ofthe impound lot 130 (e.g., may include streets, surrounding the impoundlot 104, etc.) so the target network device 12, 14, 16 or server networkdevice 20, 22, 24, 26 is notified when a vehicle accesses streets aroundthe impound lot 130.

At Step 123, the geofence application 30 on the target network device12, 14, 16 associates one or more vehicles 104 with the defined one ormore geofences 106 via the GUI 34.

In one embodiment at Step 123, the geofence application 30 on the targetnetwork device 12 displays a graphical map 128 (FIG. 9) that allows auser to graphically associate (e.g., draw a box around, etc.) thegeofence 106 on the map 128 for an impound lot 130. However, the presentinvention is not limited to such an invention and the invention can bepracticed without or without the graphical map 128 (e.g., by enteringgeofence 106 coordinates by electronic text, etc.).

Returning to FIG. 8 at Step 125, one or more new geofence messages aresecurely sent from the geofence application 30 on the target networkdevice 12, 14, 16 to the location application 30′ on the server networkdevice 20, 22, 24 via the communications network 18 including geofence106 and vehicle 104 information.

In one embodiment, the one or more new geofence messages securely sentat Step 125 include daily charges for each geofence 106. In such anembodiment, a cumulative financial charge 135 total for each vehicle 104in each geofence 106 could also be calculated by the locationapplication 30′ on the server network device 20, 22, 24, 26 as wasdiscussed above for Method 108 to avoid fraudulent financial charges.However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment andother embodiments can be used to practice the invention.

At Step 127, the geofence application 30 on the target network device12, 14, 16, securely receives one or more new geofences messages 13/15when any of the one or more vehicles 104 is stationary and physicallylocated in any of the one or more defined geofences 106, 130.

In one embodiment, the message 13/15 received at Step 127, furtherincludes additional vehicle 104 information to display on a graphicalmap 128 (FIG. 10) on the target application 30 on the target networkdevice 12, 14, 16, indicating a current geographical location of thevehicle 104 (e.g., has arrived in impound yard 130 with geofence 106,etc.) However, the present invention is not limited to such andembodiment and other embodiments may be used to practice the invention.

In one embodiment, an on-board diagnostics (OBD) apparatus alreadyexists on or is added to a desired vehicle 104 when it is collected.

On-board diagnostics (OBD) is an automotive term referring to avehicle's self-diagnostic and reporting capability. OBD systems give thevehicle owner or repair technician access to the status of the variousvehicle subsystems. The amount of diagnostic information available viaOBD has varied widely since its introduction in the early 1980s versionsof on-board vehicle computers. Early versions of OBD would simplyilluminate a malfunction indicator light if a problem was detected butwould not provide any information as to the nature of the problem.Modern OBD implementations use a standardized digital communicationsport to provide real-time data in addition to a standardized series ofdiagnostic trouble codes, or DTCs, which allow one to rapidly identifyand remedy malfunctions within the vehicle.

OBD-2 is an improvement over OBD in both capability and standardization.The OBD-2 standard specifies the type of diagnostic connector and itspinout, the electrical signaling protocols available, and the messagingformat. It also provides a candidate list of vehicle parameters tomonitor along with how to encode the data for each.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram 134 illustrating a portable vehicle on-boarddiagnostics (OBD-2) apparatus 136.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram 164 illustrating another view of the portablevehicle on-board diagnostics (OBD-2) apparatus 136 of FIG. 11. FIG. 12is not drawn to scale and is illustrative only of a one exemplary shapeof an OBD-2 apparatus 136.

In FIG. 11, the OBD-2 apparatus 136 comprises a case component 138,including a first side comprising a male connector 140 and a second sideof the case component including a second connector 142. The maleconnector 140 includes plural pins 144 for connecting to a femaleon-board diagnostic series 2 (OBD-2) port 146 integral to a vehicle 104with plural electronic receptacles 148 for receiving the plural pins 144from the male connector 140. The shape and size of the plural pin maleconnectors 144 in the drawing in FIG. 11 is exemplary only and forsimplicity and does not illustrated all sixteen pins required for anOBD-2 connector. The female OBD-2 port 146 also does not include allsixteen receptacles 148 required for an OBD-2 receptacle.

FIG. 12 illustrates a side view of OBD-2 apparatus 136. FIG. 12illustrated further details 166 of the female on-board diagnostic series2 (OBD-2) port 146 integral to a vehicle 104 with 16 electronicreceptacles 148. FIG. 12 also illustrates further details 168 of themale connector 140 including 16 pins 144 of the OBD-2 apparatus 136 ofFIG. 11.

Table 4 illustrates a few standard pins 144 defined for OBD-2. However,the present invention is not limited to this pin layouts and othersignals can be used to practice the invention.

TABLE 4 Pin Receptacle 146 Signal Description 2 J1850 Bus+ 4 CGND GND 5SGND GND 6 CAN High J-2284 7 ISO 9141-2 K-LINE Tx/Rx 8 GPS GPS 10 J1850Bus− 14 CAN Low J-2284 15 ISO 9141-2 L-LINE Tx/Rx 16 +12 v Battery power

A Controller Area Network (CAN) bus is used in most cars since 2004. TheCAN protocol is a popular standard outside of the automotive industryand is making significant in-roads into the OBD-2 market share. By 2008,all vehicles sold in the US were required to implement the CAN bus, thuseliminating the ambiguity of the existing five signaling protocols.

The CAN bus is simply a pair of wires, often twisted around each other,running around the vehicle and terminated at either end of the two-wirenetwork with resistors of 120 Ohms. The only components connected to theCAN bus are the electronic control units (nodes). Other components, suchas sensors, motors, light bulbs, switches, etc. are wired only to theelectronic control units. Some vehicles have a CAN bus system along sidethe ISO/KWP2000 system. A vehicle which uses CAN bus for on-boarddiagnostics can only respond to an OBD-2 request from a tester whichuses CAN bus. From model year 2008 vehicle manufacturers must use theOBD protocol specified in ISO 15765, also known as Diagnostics On CAN.

Two wires of CAN bus, CAN-H and CAN-L, will have the same voltage whenidle (about 2.5V), or a voltage difference of 2V when a signal is placedon the CAN bus. When a signal is placed on the CAN bus the CAN-H line isat a higher voltage than the CAN-L line. Each electronic control unithave its own CAN identity code, like an address (may respond to severalCAN id codes). If an electronic control unit is to communicate toanother it will need to know the CAN identity code of the recipient.

A simple check to see if the CAN bus is in use in a vehicle, andaccessible via the OBD socket, is to connect a resistance meter acrosspin 6 and pin 14. Due to the combined resistance of the two terminationresistors at 120 Ohms each the overall resistance should be read as 60Ohms.

OBD-2 provides access to numerous other data from the Engine ControlUnit (ECU) and offers a valuable source of information whentroubleshooting problems inside a vehicle. The Society of AutomotiveEngineers (SAE) J1979 standard defines a method for requesting variousdiagnostic data and a list of standard parameters that are availablefrom the ECU and other devices 32 in the vehicle 24. The variousparameters that are available are addressed by parameter identificationnumbers or Parameter IDentifiers (PIDs), which are defined in SAE J1979,which is incorporated herein by reference.

OBD-2 PIDs (On-board diagnostics Parameter IDs) are codes used torequest data from a vehicle, used as a diagnostic tool. SAE standardJ/1979 defines many PIDs, but manufacturers also define many more PIDsspecific to their vehicles. All light duty vehicles (i.e. less than8,500 pounds) sold in North America since 1996, as well as medium dutyvehicles (i.e. 8,500-14,000 pounds) beginning in 2005, and heavy dutyvehicles (i.e. greater than 14,000 pounds) beginning in 2010, wererequired to support OBD-2 diagnostics, using a standardized data linkconnector, and a subset of the SAE J/1979 defined PIDs (or SAE J/1939 asapplicable for medium/heavy duty vehicles), primarily for state mandatedemissions inspections.

Typically, an automotive technician uses PIDs with a scan tool connectedto the vehicle's OBD-2 connector. The technician enters the PID The scantool sends it to the vehicle's controller-area network (CAN)-bus, VPW,PWM, ISO, KWP. (After 2008, CAN only). A device on the bus recognizesthe PID as one it is responsible for, and reports the value for that PIDto the bus. The scan tool reads the response, and displays it to thetechnician.

The apparatus OBD-2 apparatus 136 uses the CAN bus and OBD-2 PIDs toobtain information from the various components (e.g., GPS 98, etc.) ofthe vehicle 104.

In one embodiment, the apparatus 138 includes its own new and uniqueOBD-2 PIDs to practice the invention. However, the present invention isnot limited to such an embodiment and the invention can be practicedwith and/or with new unique OBD-2 PIDs.

Returning to FIG. 11, the second connector 142 includes a second type ofinterface 150 for securely providing location information 102 of thevehicle 104 to an external network device 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24 onlythree of each are illustrated, each with one or more processors. Theapparatus 136 further includes an electronic circuit 152 including oneor more processors 154 inside the case component 138 connected to themale connector 140, the second connector 142 and a non-transitorycomputer readable medium 156. The electronic circuit 152 is configuredfor automatically storing and transmitting location information 102received from the plural electronic signals including time andgeo-location data 102 from the vehicle 104 and on onboard GlobalPositioning System (GPS) 98 or a GPS component of a network device 12,14, 16 and clock and received as a result of a driver 158 moving and/ordriving the vehicle 104 and stored in the non-transitory computerreadable medium 156. The computer readable medium includes geofenceapplication 30.

In one embodiment, the OBD-2 apparatus 136 further includes a camerainterface 160 connected to the case component 138 and electronic circuit152 for collecting still pictures of the driver 158 of the vehicle 104and/or the vehicle 104 and/or video of the driver 158 of the vehicle 104and/or video of the vehicle 104 as the vehicle 104 is moved, towedand/or operated. In such an embodiment, the camera interface 160 is alsoused to collect pictures of configurations of individual components(e.g., seat, mirror, etc.) within a passenger compartment in the vehicle104. In another embodiment, a camera component of an external networkdevice 12, 14, 16 is used to collect still pictures and/or video of thedriver 158 and/or the vehicle 104 as it is driven, towed of moved. Theexternal network device 12, 14, 16, communicates with the OBD-2apparatus 136 via the second connector 142 via geofence application 30with a wireless 19″ or wired 19′ connection to send the still picturesand/or video for storage on the OBD-2 apparatus 136. However, thepresent invention is not limited to such an embodiment and the presentinvention can be practiced with and/or without the camera interface 160.

In one embodiment, the electronic circuit 152 of the OBD-2 apparatus 136is powered by a power source from the vehicle 104 (e.g., 12 volt, etc.)The power source is obtained from one of the plural receptacles 148(e.g., pin 16, etc.) in the OBD-2 diagnostic port 146 integral to thevehicle 104.

In another embodiment, the electronic circuit 152 of the OBD-2 apparatus136 receives a first power source from the vehicle 104. When the OBD-2apparatus 136 is unplugged from the OBD-2 diagnostic port 146 integralto the vehicle 104, it has no power. To retrieve the locationinformation 102, the OBD-2 apparatus 136 uses a power source supplied tothe second connector 142 from an external device 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 24,etc. via the wired 19′ or wireless 19″ connection.

However, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments andmore, fewer and other combinations of internal and/or external powersources can be used to practice the invention.

In another embodiment the electronic circuit 152 of the OBD-2 apparatus136 is powered by a power source of the second connector 142 (e.g.,serial, USB, wireless, etc.).

In another embodiment, the electronic circuit 152 further includes aninternal power supply 162 comprising a Direct Current (DC) and/or anAlternating Current (AC) power supply and/or a combination thereof.

The power supply 162 includes an electronic device that supplieselectric power to an electrical load. The primary function of a powersupply is to convert one form of electrical energy to another and, as aresult, power supplies are sometimes referred to as electric powerconverters. Some power supplies are discrete, stand-alone devices,whereas others are built into larger devices along with their loads.Every power supply must obtain the energy it supplies to its load, aswell as any energy it consumes while performing that task, from anenergy source. All power supplies have a power input, which connects tothe energy source, and a power output that connects to the load. In manypower supplies the power input and output consist of electricalconnectors.

In one embodiment, the power supply 162 includes a DC power supply. A DCpower supply is one that supplies a voltage of fixed polarity (eitherpositive or negative) to its load. Depending on its design, a DC powersupply may be powered from a DC source or from an AC source. DC powersupplies, include, but are not limited to, batteries, thermocouples,solar cells, capacitors, etc.

A “battery” is a device consisting of one or more electrochemical cellsthat convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. In oneembodiment, the apparatus 136, includes a battery with life of abouttwo-four weeks to allow for downloading from the apparatus 136. In oneembodiment, a primary and a backup battery is used. However, the presentinvention is not limited to this embodiment and the invention can bepracticed without a backup battery.

A “thermocouple” is a temperature-measuring device consisting of twodissimilar conductors that contact each other at one or more spots. Itproduces a voltage when the temperature of one of the spots differs fromthe reference temperature at other parts of the circuit.

A “solar cell” (also called a photovoltaic cell) is an electrical devicethat converts the energy of light directly into electricity by thephotovoltaic effect.

A “capacitor” (originally known as a condenser) is a passivetwo-terminal electrical component used to store energy electrostaticallyin an electric field. For example, the mechanical motion of the solenoidvalve 24, other valves and/or pumps is used to dispense the condimentcan be used re-charge the capacitor.

In another embodiment, the power supply 162 includes an AC power supply.

An AC power supply typically takes the voltage from a main power source,(e.g., 110 volt wall socket, etc.) and lowers it to a desired voltage.

In another embodiment, the power supply 162 includes a switched-modepower supply (SMPS). In an SMPS, the AC mains input is directlyrectified and then filtered to obtain a desired DC voltage. Theresulting DC voltage is then switched on and off at a high frequency byelectronic switching circuitry, thus producing an AC current that willpass through a high-frequency transformer or inductor. Switching occursat a very high frequency (e.g.; typically 10 kHz to 1 MHz), therebyenabling the use of transformers and filter capacitors that are muchsmaller, lighter, and less expensive than those found in linear powersupplies operating at mains frequency. After the inductor or transformersecondary, the high frequency AC is rectified and filtered to producethe desired DC output voltage. In such an embodiment the power isobtained for the SMPS from power source on the vehicle 104.

However, the present invention is not limited to the power suppliesdiscussed and other types of internal and/or external power suppliesand/or other combinations of AC and DC power can be used to practice theinvention.

Battery Management of Mobile Geofence Apparatus

A “geofence” 106 is a virtual geographic boundary, defined by GlobalPositioning System (GPS), Radio Frequency Identifier (RFID) technologyor other wireless location technologies that enables a response to betriggered when a mobile geofencing apparatus enters or leaves thegeographic boundary of an actual area (e.g., car lot; impound lot,homeowner driveway; etc.) and when it is necessary to track a desiredvehicle that is moving during transport and/or during a repossessionevent and/or after it has been parked and is no longer moving.

A geofence 106 is dynamically generated, as in a radius around a pointlocation such as that around a moving vehicle 104. The geofence 106 isalso statically defined as a predefined set of virtual electronicboundaries for a set of actual geographic boundaries (e.g., a car lot, atow lot, a vehicle owner's home driveway, etc.).

A “mobile geofence apparatus” is a mobile network device that is poweredby an internal battery that attached to a vehicle (e.g., car, truck,boat, ship, aircraft, watercraft, motorcycle, snow machine, etc.) thatprovides location information 102 of the vehicle 104 in real-time as thevehicle 104 is moving and/or has stopped moving.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram 170 illustrating a mobile geofencing device172. The mobile geofencing device 172, includes, but is not limited to,a GPS component 98 for collecting GPS location information (e.g., time,longitude, latitude, and/or elevation, etc.) on the device 172. Theapparatus 172 further includes a location component 174 for determiningother types of location information including RFID, WiFi, cellulartelephone, NFC, M2M, and/or types of location information. However, thepresent invention is not limited to such an embodiment and otherembodiments can be used to practice the invention.

The apparatus 172 further includes an electronic circuit 152 includingone or more processors 154 and a non-transitory computer readable medium156. The electronic circuit 152 is configured for automatically storingand transmitting battery information 176, location information 102received from the plural electronic signals including time andgeo-location data 102 from the vehicle 104 and on onboard GlobalPositioning System (GPS) 98 and/or a GPS component of a network device12, 14, 16 and clock and/or another type of location component (e.g.,RFID, WiFi, cellular telephone, NFC, M2M, etc.) and received as a resultof a driver 158 moving and/or driving the vehicle 104 and stored in thenon-transitory computer readable medium 156. The apparatus 172 furtherincludes a temperature component 171 and/or humidity component 173,and/or barometric pressure component 175. The non-transitory computerreadable medium further includes temperature information 171′ frominside and/or outside of the vehicle 104 obtained from a temperaturecomponent 171. The computer readable medium 156 further includesgeofence application 30.

Executing instructions on the one or more processors 154 on theapparatus 172 generates heat and increases a temperature for theapparatus 172.

Temperature is measured with thermometers and other devices that may becalibrated to a variety of temperature scales. In most of the world (notthe United States), the Celsius scale is used for most temperaturemeasuring purposes. Most scientists measure temperature using theCelsius scale denoting a scale of temperature on which water freezes at0° and boos at 100° under standard conditions. Fahrenheit is atemperature scale that bases the boiling point of water at 212° and thefreezing point at 32° and is used primarily in the United States.

In one embodiment, apparatus 172 further includes a camera interface 160connected to the electronic circuit 152 for collecting still pictures ofthe driver 158 of the vehicle 104 and/or the vehicle 104 and/or video ofthe driver 158 of the vehicle 104 and/or video of the vehicle 104 as thevehicle 104 is moved, towed and/or operated. In such an embodiment, thecamera interface 160 is also used to collect pictures of configurationsof individual components (e.g., seat, mirror, etc.) within a passengercompartment in the vehicle 104. In another embodiment, a cameracomponent of an external network device 12, 14, 16 is used to collectstill pictures and/or video of the driver 158 and/or the vehicle 104 asit is driven, towed of moved. The external network device 12, 14, 16,communicates with the apparatus 172 via a communications interface 182via geofence application 30 with a wireless 19″ or wired 19′ connectionto send the still pictures and/or video for storage on the device.However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment andthe present invention can be practiced with and/or without the camerainterface 160.

In another embodiment, the electronic circuit 152 further includes aninternal power supply 162 comprising a Direct Current (DC) power supply.

The power supply 162 includes an electronic device that supplieselectric power to an electrical load. The primary function of a powersupply is to convert one form of electrical energy to another and, as aresult, power supplies are sometimes referred to as electric powerconverters. Some power supplies are discrete, stand-alone devices,whereas others are built into larger devices along with their loads.Every power supply must obtain the energy it supplies to its load, aswell as any energy it consumes while performing that task, from anenergy source. All power supplies have a power input, which connects tothe energy source, and a power output that connects to the load. In manypower supplies the power input and output consist of electricalconnectors.

In one embodiment, the power supply 162 includes an internal DC powersupply. A DC power supply is one that supplies a voltage of fixedpolarity (either positive or negative) to its load. Depending on itsdesign, a DC power supply is powered from a DC power source. DC powersupplies, include, but are not limited to, batteries 162, thermocouples,solar cells, capacitors, etc.

A “battery” 162 is a device consisting of one or more electrochemicalcells that convert stored chemical energy into electrical energy. In oneembodiment, the device 172, includes an internal battery 162 with lifeof up to about one year of normal use to allow for communicating withthe device 172. In one embodiment, a primary and a backup battery isused. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodimentand the invention can be practiced without a backup battery.

Operational information 176 from the battery 162 is collected byelectronic circuit 152 and stored in the computer readable medium 156 onthe device 172. The device further includes a display interfacecomponent 178 that provides visual operational information 176 for theinternal battery 162 to a viewer.

In one embodiment, the display interface component 178 includes, but isnot limited to, a liquid-crystal display (LCD). An LCD is a flat paneldisplay, electronic visual display, or video display that uses the lightmodulating properties of liquid crystals. Liquid crystals do not emitlight directly. An LCD's low electrical power consumption enables it tobe used in battery-powered 162 electronic equipment. It is anelectronically modulated optical device made up of any number ofsegments filled with liquid crystals and arrayed in front of a lightsource (backlight) or reflector to produce images in color ormonochrome.

In one embodiment, the display interface component 178 include, but isnot limited to, a thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal display (TFT LCD).A TFT LCD is a variant of an LCD that uses thin-film transistor (TFT)technology to improve image qualities such as addressability andcontrast. A TFT LCD is an active-matrix LCD, in contrast topassive-matrix LCDs or simple, direct-driven LCDs with a few segments.

However, the present invention is not limited to these the displayinterface components 178 and more fewer and other types of displayinterface components 178 can be used to practice the invention.

In one embodiment, the display interface component 178 includes, but isnot limited to, a graphical component 180 that displays operationalinformation about the battery 162 in the apparatus 172 for a viewer.However, the display interface component 178 can also display textualand/or other types of operational information 176 for the battery 162.However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment andother embodiments can be used to practice the invention.

The apparatus 172 further includes a communications interface 182. Theexternal target network device 12, 14, 16, communicates with theapparatus 172 via the communications interface 182 via geofenceapplication 30 with a wireless 19″ or wired 19′ connection to sendoperational information 176 for the battery 162 on the apparatus 172 viathe communications network 18, 18′.

The plural server network devices 20, 22, 24, 26 also communicate viatheir geofence application 30′ with the apparatus 172 via thecommunications interface 182 via the geofence application 30 on theapparatus 172 with a wireless 19″ or wired 19′ connection to sendoperational information 176 for the battery 162 on the apparatus 172 viathe communications network 18, 18′.

In one embodiment, the apparatus 172, the external target networkdevices 12, 14, 16 and the plural server network devices 20, 22, 24, 26include a standalone battery management application 30 b, 30 b′ that isnot included in the geofence application 30, 30′. However, the presentinvention is not limited to this embodiment and other embodiments can beused to practice the invention.

In one embodiment, the apparatus 172 includes and OBD-2 apparatus 136.In another embodiment, the apparatus 172 is included as an integralcomponent 184 of the electronics of the vehicle 104. In anotherembodiment, the apparatus 172 is included as a component 172′ ofexternal target network device 12, 14, 16, that is included on and/or inthe vehicle 104.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram 186 illustrating display 188 of batteryoperational information 176 from a mobile geofencing apparatus 172. Thebattery operation information 180 is displayed for three exemplaryvehicles 104, labeled vehicle-104 a-104 c on both an exemplary externaltarget network device 12 and an exemplary server network device 20. Thebattery operational information 176 for plural mobile geofencing devices72 on and/or in plural vehicles 104 can be viewed on devices external tothe location of the plural vehicles 104 in real-time.

An internal battery on a mobile geofence apparatus 172 typically hasabout five year operational life at room temperature (e.g., about 20 to22° C. (about 68 to 72° F.)), with a heartbeat generated once per hour.A “heartbeat” is an interrupt generated on the apparatus 172 whichgenerates a regular communication connection interval.

The capacity and longevity of the battery 162 on the apparatus 172 isaffected by network conditions on the communications network 18, 18′ andby ambient temperatures on and around the apparatus 172 and the vehicle104.

In a “cold weather” scenario, the apparatus 172 is installed in and/oron a vehicle 104 which stays in cold climate, during summer months hightemperatures are seen briefly but mostly temperatures stay below about40° C. (i.e., below about 104 CF).

In a “hot weather” scenario, the apparatus 172 is installed in and/or avehicle 104 which stays in hot climate, temperatures mostly above 20° C.to 30° C. in winter months (i.e., above about 68° F. to about 86° F.).and some extreme temperatures (e.g., >40° C. (i.e., >than about 104° F.)are also routinely experienced during summer months.

Table 5 illustrates exemplary conditions that affect capacity andlongevity of the battery 162 on the apparatus 172. However, the presentinvention is not limited to the exemplary conditions illustrated inTable 5 and more, fewer and/or other conditions can affect battery 162.

TABLE 5 There are basically three main factors that affect the battery's162 life time: 1. Network conditions Typical registration takes about 16seconds Poor network is worst case when device needs to re-send data Ifno network is found device will timeout in 30s No cell service or poorcell tower coverage 2. Temperature's effect on battery capacity Capacityreduced by about 15% at 55° C. Capacity reduced by about 50% at −40° C.3. Temperature's effect on sleep current Normally sleep current can bemeasured in few μAs Sleep current increases exponentially withtemperature, so that if it is around 3 μA in room temperature, value is21 μA at 60° C. and 93 μA at 80° C. Overall, in typical network andtemperature conditions 5 year operational time is reachable. Poornetwork and high temperatures are more challenging, so in such casesit'd be beneficial to expand registration interval.

It has been determined experimentally when the apparatus 172 is at roomtemperature it can easily meet a 5 year operational time target with a“normal mode” heartbeat interval and a 3 month operational time targetin a “rapid tracking mode.” Also, in cold climate scenario apparatus 172typically will bypass the 5 year and 3 month targets in typical networkconditions.

The “normal mode” is typically used for routine vehicle 104 trackingsuch as moving vehicles to and from car lots, tow lots, etc. The “rapidtracking mode” is typically used for emergency tracking of the vehicle104 for events that are necessary for a repossession event if thevehicle owner has not been paying his/her vehicle payment, a crimeevent, military event, terrorist event, etc.

However, battery 162 current consumption increases and battery 162 lifedecreases rapidly in the “normal mode” when temperature raises, or ifapparatus 172 takes longer time to register due to poor communicationsnetwork 18, 18′ conditions. It also should be noted that battery 162capacity and lifetime is significantly decreased in very coldtemperatures.

In addition, in the “rapid tracking mode,” where the heartbeat intervalis typically every one-to-ten seconds to every one-to-ten minutes and a3 month operational time is reachable if full battery 162 capacity isusable. If apparatus 172 has been out in the field for longer period oftime, then 3 month reporting requirement can typically be met byincreasing the reporting interval to a longer time interval, etc.

To improve operational time of the battery 162, the reporting intervalis decreased to a longer time interval in cases if: (1) the apparatus172 experiences temperature extremes, hot or cold; and (2) the networkcoverage for the apparatus 172, is poor or there is no coverage at all.

For example, in a hot climate with poor network coverage an estimatedoperational time for the battery 162 is about 4.3 years. If heartbeatinterval is increased to 21 hours from 17 hours, battery 162 in theapparatus 172 will instead last for about 5.1 years.

Table 6 illustrates actual exemplary experimental data collected forplural actual apparatus 172 internal battery 162 lifetime expectancy inyears, with a summary of operational time estimates increasing theheatbeat registration interval from 17 hours to 21 hours (i.e., 17 vs 21hour heartbeat). However, the data in Table 6 is exemplary only and thepresent invention is not limited to the battery 162 lifetime expectancyillustrated in Table 6.

TABLE 6 Network conditions Good Typical Poor Environment 17 h 21 h 17 h21 h 17 h 21 h Room temperature 7.4 yr 8.8 yr 5.6 yr 6.8 yr 4.7 yr 5.7yr Cold climate 7.0 8.5 5.3 6.4 4.5 5.4 Hot climate 6.3 7.3 5.0 5.9 4.35.1 Hot environment 5.2 5.8 4.3 4.9 3.8 4.4 Extreme hot 1.8 1.9 1.7 1.81.6 1.7Battery Management on Mobile Geofencing Apparatus

Mobile geofencing apparatus are placed in and/or on vehicles to trackand current physical location of the vehicle. Tracking and determiningcurrent physical location of vehicles is very important for car dealers,finance companies, towing companies, repossession companies, lawenforcement entities, military entities, government agency entitiesand/or other entities. A mobile geofencing apparatus with an internalbattery cannot track or determine a current physical location of avehicle of its internal battery is dead and/or has been drained to avery low voltage.

Thus, is desirable to manage batteries, to save battery life anddynamically adjust battery usage on an internal battery on a mobilegeofencing apparatus during normal usage.

It is especially desirable to manage such batteries in extremeconditions when a vehicle the mobile geofencing apparatus is placed onand/or in, is in an area including extreme hot and/or cold weatherconditions and/or stormy weather conditions and during times when thevehicle is an area with poor network connectivity and/or poor networkcoverage including, but not limited to, poor cellular telephone coverageand/or poor cell tower coverage and/or poor network coverage forconnecting to networks of other types (e.g., Internet, PSTN, MAN, WAN,WiWAN, WiFi, etc.)

FIGS. 15A, 15B and 15C are a flow diagram illustrating a Method 190 forbattery management on a mobile geofencing device.

In FIG. 15A at Step 192, generating automatically and periodically inreal-time, a connection request on a management application on a mobilegeofencing apparatus with one or more processors located on or in avehicle during a pre-determined timed connection interval to sendvehicle location information to a battery management application on aserver network device with one or more processors and one or more othernetwork devices each with one or more processor via a communicationsnetwork. At Step 194 determining on the management application, voltagelevel information for an internal battery on the mobile geofencingapparatus. At Step 196, determining on the management application,temperature information including ambient temperature in or around thevehicle. At Step 198, determining on the management application, acurrent physical location for the vehicle. In FIG. 15B at Step 200, afirst test is conducted for determining on the management applicationwhether the voltage level information for the internal battery is withina pre-determined voltage threshold. If the first test at Step 200,determines the voltage level information for the internal battery iswithin a pre-determined voltage threshold, at Step 202, a second test isconducted for determining on the management application whether thetemperature information for the vehicle is within a pre-determinedtemperature threshold. If the second test a Step 202 determinestemperature information for the vehicle is within a pre-determinedtemperature threshold, at Step 204, the management application estimatesadditional battery usage required by the internal battery based on thedetermined temperature information. At Step 206, the managementapplication sends in real-time, a status message to the server networkdevice with one or more processors and the one or more network deviceseach with one or more processors external to the vehicle via thecommunications network. The status message including the determinedlocation information for the vehicle, the determined voltage informationfor the vehicle, the determined temperature information for the vehicleand the estimated battery usage required by the internal battery basedon the determined temperature information. If the first test at Step200, determines the voltage level information for the internal batteryis not within the pre-determined voltage threshold and/or the If thesecond test at Step 202 determines temperature information for thevehicle is not within a pre-determined temperature threshold, then inFIG. 15C at Step 208, estimating from the management applicationadditional battery usage required by the internal battery based on thedetermined temperature information. At Step 210, sending from themanagement application, an alert message in real-time to the servernetwork device and the one or more network devices external to thevehicle via the communications network. The alert message including thedetermined location information for the vehicle, the determined voltageinformation for the vehicle, the determined temperature levelinformation indicating, and the estimated battery usage required by theinternal battery based on the determined temperature information on themobile geofencing apparatus is in a low voltage state. At Step 212,calculating on the management application a new pre-determined timeperiod for a new alert connection interval that is different than thepre-determined connection interval, to generate a next connectionrequest. At Step 214, entering a wait state on the managementapplication on the mobile geofencing apparatus until the newpre-determined time period for the new alert connection interval occurs.

Method 190 is illustrated with an exemplary embodiment. However, thepresent invention is not limited to such an embodiment and otherembodiments can be used to practice the invention.

In such an exemplary embodiment at FIG. 15A at Step 192, generatingautomatically and periodically in real-time, a connection request on amanagement application 30′ on a mobile geofencing apparatus 172 with oneor more processors located on or in a vehicle 104 during apre-determined timed connection interval to send vehicle locationinformation 102 to a battery management application 30′ on a servernetwork device 20 with one or more processors and one or more othernetwork devices 12, 14, 16, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26 each with one or moreprocessor via a communications network 18, 18′.

In one embodiment, the mobile geofencing apparatus 172, includes, but isnot limited to, an on-board diagnostics apparatus (OBD), on-boarddiagnostics, second generation apparatus (OBD-2), 14 and/or a networkdevice 12, 14, 16, 21, 23, with one or more processors including ageo-fence location application 30. However, the present invention is notlimited to such an embodiments and other apparatus can be used topractice the invention.

If the mobile geofencing apparatus 172 includes an OBD or OBD-2apparatus, is it plugging into an OBD port 146 in the vehicle 104.

In one embodiment, the network device, includes, but is not limited to:mobile phones 12, tablet computers 14, laptop computers 16, surfacecomputers 21, personal digital/data assistants or wearable networkdevices 23. However, the present invention is not limited to such anembodiments and other types of network devices can be used to practicethe invention.

In one embodiment, the mobile geofencing apparatus 172 and the one ormore network devices 12, 14, 16, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26 include, but are notlimited to, a standalone battery management application 30 b′, 30 b thatis not included in the management application 30′ or the geofencelocation application 30.

In one embodiment at Step 192, the connection request is a real-time“heartbeat” generated on the mobile geofencing apparatus 172. A“heartbeat” is a periodic signal and/or interrupt generated by ahardware system and/or a software application to indicate normaloperation or to synchronize other parts of a system. However, thepresent invention is not limited to this embodiment and otherembodiments may be used to practice the invention. Usually a heartbeatis sent between devices at a regular timed interval in an order ofminutes and/or seconds in a heartbeat message. In such an embodiment,the connect request message includes a heartbeat message.

At Step 194, determining on the management application 30′, voltagelevel information 176 for an internal battery 162 on the mobilegeofencing apparatus 172.

At Step 196, determining on the management application, temperatureinformation 171′ includes an “ambient” temperature in or around thevehicle 104.

An “ambient” temperature is the air temperature of any object orenvironment where equipment is stored. The adjective ambient means“relating to the immediate surroundings.” Also sometimes referred to asthe ordinary temperature and/or the baseline temperature. An ambienttemperature is measured by using a thermometer and/or temperature sensorcomponent 171.

In one embodiment, the temperature information 171′ is collected from athermometer 171″ and/or other sensors (e.g., MEMS, etc.) inside thevehicle 104. In such an embodiment the thermometer 171″ and/or othersensors inside the vehicle 104 send the temperature information 171′ tothe device 72.

In another embodiment the temperature information 171′ is collecteddirectly by a thermometer component 171 integral to the apparatus 172.

In another embodiment the temperature information 171′ includesadditional weather related information such as relative humidityinformation 173′ collected from the relative humidity component 173,barometric pressure information 175′, collected from the barometricpressure component 175, and/or other types of weather information.

“Relative humidity” includes a measure of how much water vapor is inair, compared to how much it could hold at a current temperature of theair. “Barometric pressure” includes a pressure measurement of a weightof air that surrounds a device. Barometers are used to predict theweather. A barometer measures aft pressure, A “rising” barometricpressure indicates increasing air pressure; a “falling” barometerpressure indicates decreasing air pressure. A low pressure weatherincludes areas of unsettled weather including winds, clouds and oftenprecipitation. High-pressure weather system include areas of, clearfair, settled weather.

In one embodiment, the temperature information 171′ collection istriggered by one or more Micromachined MicroElectromechanical Systems(MEMS) sensors in the vehicle 104. For example, turning on/off a heatingsystem, turning on/off an ignition system on/off, turning on/off an airconditioning system, opening/closing a window, etc.

However, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiments andmore, fewer and/or other types of temperature information and/or weatherinformation can be used to practice the invention.

At Step 198, determining on the management application 30′, a currentphysical location 102 for the vehicle 104.

In one embodiment, the current physical location 102 for the vehicle 104includes GPS location information 98′ and/or and/or 2D/3D geo-space(X,Y) and/or (X,Y,Z) information, and/or electronic map location and/orstreet address, etc. for the vehicle 104. However, the present inventionis not limited to such an embodiments and more, fewer and/or other typesof location information and/or weather information can be used topractice the invention.

In FIG. 15B at Step 200, a first test is conducted for determining onthe management application 30′ whether the voltage level information176′ for the internal battery 162 is within a pre-determined voltagethreshold.

If the first test at Step 200, determines the voltage level information176′ for the internal battery 162 is within a pre-determined voltagethreshold, at Step 202, a second test is conducted for determining onthe management application 30′ whether the temperature information 171′for the vehicle 104 is within a pre-determined temperature threshold.

If the second test at Step 202 determines temperature information 171′for the vehicle 104 is within a pre-determined temperature threshold, atStep 204, the management application 30′ estimates additional batteryusage required by the internal battery 162 based on the determinedtemperature information 171′.

At Step 206, the management application 30′ sends in real-time, a statusmessage to the battery management application 30′ on the server networkdevice 20 with one or more processors and the one or more networkdevices 12, 14, 16, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26 each with one or more processorsexternal to the vehicle 104 via the communications network 18, 18′. Thestatus message including the determined location information 102 for thevehicle 104, the determined voltage information 176′ for the vehicle104, the determined temperature information 171′ for the vehicle 104 andthe estimated battery usage required by the internal battery 162 basedon the determined temperature information 171′.

If the first test at Step 200, determines the voltage level information176′ for the internal battery 162 is not within the pre-determinedvoltage threshold and/or the If the second test at Step 202 determinestemperature information 171′ for the vehicle 104 is not within apre-determined temperature threshold, then in FIG. 15C at Step 208,estimating from the management application 30′ additional battery usagerequired by the internal battery 162 based on the determined temperatureinformation 171′.

At Step 210, sending from the management application 30′, an alertmessage in real-time to the battery management application 30′ on theserver network device 20 and the one or more network devices 12, 14, 16,21, 22, 23, 24, 26 external to the vehicle via the communicationsnetwork 18, 18′. The alert message including the determined locationinformation 102, 98′ for the vehicle 104, the determined voltageinformation 176′ for the vehicle 104, the determined temperature levelinformation 171′ indicating, and the estimated battery usage required bythe internal battery based on the determined temperature information171′ on the mobile geofencing apparatus 172 is in a low voltage state.(See Tables 5-7).

At Step 212, calculating on the management application 30′ a newpre-determined time period for a new alert connection interval that isdifferent than the pre-determined connection interval, to generate anext connection request.

At Step 214, entering a wait state on the management application 30′ onthe mobile geofencing apparatus 172 until the new pre-determined timeperiod for the new alert connection interval occurs.

In one embodiment, Step 214, further includes dynamically monitoring onthe management application, temperature information 171′ in the vehicle104, the monitoring triggered by one or more MicromachinedMicroElectromechanical Systems (MEMS) sensors in the vehicle 104.

In one embodiment, the MEMS sensors, include but are not limited to MEMSsensors for: a speedometer system (e.g., to indicate the vehicle 104 isin motion and/or stopped, etc.), GPS system, a heating system, an airconditioning system an ignition system, and/or a window system, in thevehicle 104.

However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, andmore, fewer and/or other MEMS sensors and/or other embodiments can beused to practice the invention.

Table 7 illustrates exemplary decisions made by the managementapplication 30′ on the mobile geofencing apparatus 172. However, thepresent invention is not limited to these exemplary decisions and more,fewer or other decisions can be used to practice the invention.

TABLE 7 Data and Information from Tables 5 and 6 Depending on atemperature 171′, apparatus 172 can wait for optimal time to connect tonetwork In low temperature 171′, apparatus 172 will not try to connectbelow a certain threshold and then if temperature is higher at certaintime then try to connect. In high temperature 171′, apparatus 172 willnot try to connect above a certain threshold and then if temperature islower at certain time then try to connect. Temperature 171′ check can bebased on location 102 and time of the day: if temperature 171′ is out ofrange during the day check next time at night and vice versa. Ifapparatus 172 is low in internal battery 162 power, it can wait foroptimal temperature 171′ to try to connect, knowing that at certaintemperature 171′, battery 162 has most capacity left. Temperature 171;monitoring can be triggered by MEMS interrupt, which indicates that theapparatus 172 is moving and ambient temperature 171′ is expected tochange (e.g. if device is in a vehicle 104 it will either cool down viaair conditioning (A/C) when hot, and/or warm up via a heater when cold,cool down and/or warm up when a window is open/closed, warm up and/orcool down when an ignition system is turned on/off etc.)

In one embodiment, Method 190 further includes additional Step 215,displaying on a graphical user interface 32 on the server network device20 and the one or more other network devices 12, 14, 16, 21, 22, 23, 24,26, a graphical display 188′ of battery operational information for themobile geofencing apparatus 172 on the vehicle 104 and other mobilegeofencing apparatus 172′ used with network devices 12, 14, 16, 21, 23on or in other vehicles 104′. Step 215 can be used with and/or withoutStep 215 a in Method 190.

In one embodiment, Method 190 further includes additional Step 215 a,displaying on a display component 178 on the mobile geofencing apparatus172, battery operational information 180 for the mobile geofencingapparatus 172 in or on the vehicle 104. Step 215 a can be used withand/or without Step 215 in Method 190.

However the present invention is not limited to these embodiments andother embodiments can be used to practice the invention.

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram illustrating a Method 216 for batterymanagement for a mobile geofencing device.

In FIG. 16 at Step 218, estimating on the management application, a newexpected physical location for the vehicle based on prior locationinformation collected for the vehicle. At Step 220, estimating on themanagement application, new temperature information based on a localweather forecast for the estimated new expected physical location forthe vehicle. At Step 222, estimating on the management application, aremaining lifetime time period of the internal battery based on theestimated new expected physical location information for the vehicle,the estimated new temperature information for the vehicle andtemperature information determined for the vehicle.

Method 216 is illustrated with an exemplary embodiment. However, thepresent invention is not limited to such an embodiment and otherembodiments can be used to practice the invention.

In FIG. 16 at Step 218, estimating on the management application 30′, anew expected physical location 102′ for the vehicle 104 based on priorlocation information 102 collected for the vehicle 104.

At Step 220, estimating on the management application 30′, newtemperature information 171″ based on a local weather forecast for theestimated new expected physical location 102′ for the vehicle 104.

At Step 222, estimating on the management application 30′, a remaininglifetime time period of the internal battery 162 based on the estimatednew expected physical location information 102′ for the vehicle 104, theestimated new temperature information 171″ for the vehicle 104 andtemperature information determined 171′ for the vehicle.

FIG. 17 is a flow diagram illustrating a Method 224 for batterymanagement for a mobile geofencing device.

In such an exemplary embodiment in FIG. 17 at Step 226, estimating onthe management application, a remaining lifetime time period of theinternal battery based on the determined location information for thevehicle, the determined voltage information for the vehicle, thedetermined temperature information for the vehicle and estimated batteryusage required by the internal battery based on the determinedtemperature information. At Step 228, displaying on a graphical userinterface on the server network device and the one or more other networkdevices, a graphical display of battery operational information for themobile geofencing apparatus and other mobile geofencing apparatus onother vehicles.

Method 224 is illustrated with an exemplary embodiment. However, thepresent invention is not limited to such an embodiment and otherembodiments can be used to practice the invention.

In such an exemplary embodiment in FIG. 17, at Step 226 estimating onthe management application 30′, a remaining lifetime time period of theinternal battery 126 based on the determined location information 102for the vehicle 104, the determined voltage information for the vehicle171′, the determined temperature information 162′ for the vehicle andestimated battery usage required by the internal battery 162 based onthe determined temperature information 171′

At Step 228, displaying on a graphical user interface 32 on the servernetwork device 20 and the one or more other network devices 12, 14, 16,21, 22, 23, 24, 26, a graphical display of battery operationalinformation 188′ from the mobile geofencing apparatus 12 and/or othermobile geofencing apparatus on or in other vehicles.

FIG. 18 is a flow diagram illustrating a Method 230 for batterymanagement for a mobile geofencing device.

In FIG. 18, at Step 232, determining from the management application onthe mobile geofencing apparatus located on or in the vehicle,automatically and periodically in real-time, new voltage levelinformation for the internal battery, new location information for thevehicle and new temperature information for the vehicle during thepre-determined timed connection interval. The determined new voltagelevel below the pre-determined voltage threshold indicating use of theinternal battery on the mobile geofencing apparatus requires adjusting.At Step 234, sending from the management application in real-time, astatus alert message to a server battery management application on theserver network device via the communications network during thepre-determined timed connection interval, the status message includingthe determined new voltage level information for the internal battery,the determined new temperature information for the vehicle during thepre-determined timed connection interval. At Step 236, receiving on themobile geofencing apparatus from the server battery managementapplication on the server network device via the communications network,a status alert response message, including a new next per-determinedtimed connection interval to be used on mobile geofence apparatuscalculated by the server network device. The new next per-determinedtimed connection interval calculated on the battery managementapplication on server network device using the new voltage levelinformation for the internal battery, new location information for thevehicle and new temperature information from the status message and thedetermined new voltage level below the pre-determined voltage threshold.

Method 230 is illustrated with an exemplary embodiment. However, thepresent invention is not limited to such an embodiment and otherembodiments can be used to practice the invention.

In such an exemplary embodiment in FIG. 18, at Step 232, determiningfrom the management application 30′ on the mobile geofencing apparatus172 located on or in the vehicle 172, automatically and periodically inreal-time, new voltage level information 176″ for the internal battery162, new location information for the vehicle 104″ and new temperatureinformation 171″ for the vehicle 104 during the pre-determined timedconnection interval. The determined new voltage level 176″ is determinedto be below the pre-determined voltage threshold indicating use of theinternal battery 162 on the mobile geofencing apparatus 172 requiresadjusting.

At Step 234, sending from the management application 30′ in real-time, astatus alert message to a server battery management application 30′ onthe server network device 20 via the communications network 18, 18′during the pre-determined timed connection interval, the status alertmessage including the determined new voltage level information 176″ forthe internal battery 162, the determined new temperature information171″ for the vehicle during the pre-determined timed connectioninterval.

At Step 236, receiving on the mobile geofencing apparatus 172 fromserver battery management application 30′ on the server network device20 via the communications network 18,18′, a status alert responsemessage, including a new next per-determined timed connection intervalto be used on mobile geofence apparatus 172 calculated by the servernetwork device 20 (See Tables 5-7). The new next pre-determined timedconnection interval calculated on the battery management application 30′on the server network device 20 using the new voltage level information176″ for the internal battery 162, new location information 102″ for thevehicle 104 and new temperature information 171″ from the status alertresponse message and the determined new voltage level 176″ determined tobe below the pre-determined voltage threshold.

FIG. 19 is a flow diagram illustrating a Method 238 for batterymanagement for a mobile geofencing device.

In FIG. 19 at Step 240, receiving on a server battery managementapplication on the server network device in real-time, a status alertmessage from the management application on the mobile geofencingapparatus on the via the communications network during thepre-determined timed connection interval. The status alert messageincluding a determined new voltage level information for the internalbattery, a determined new temperature information for the vehicle duringthe pre-determined timed connection interval, the determined new voltagelevel determined to be below the pre-determined voltage thresholdindicating use of the internal battery on the mobile geofencingapparatus requires adjusting. At Step 242, calculating on the serverbattery management application on the server network device a new nextpre-determined timed connection interval using the new voltage levelinformation for the internal battery determined to be below thepre-determined voltage threshold, the new location information for thevehicle and the new temperature information from the status message. AtStep 244, sending a status alert response message from the serverbattery management application on the server network device to themanagement application on the management application on the mobilegeofencing apparatus on the via the communications network during thepre-determined timed connection interval. The status alert responsemessage including status response message, including a calculated newnext connection pre-determined timed connection interval to be used onmobile geofence apparatus and instructions on how the mobile geofencingapparatus should adjust its battery usage on the internal battery on themobile geofencing apparatus based the received new voltage levelinformation for the internal battery determined to be below thepre-determined voltage threshold.

Method 238 is illustrated with an exemplary embodiment. However, thepresent invention is not limited to such an embodiment and otherembodiments can be used to practice the invention.

In such an exemplary embodiment in FIG. 19, at Step At Step 240,receiving on a server battery management application 30′ on the servernetwork device 20 in real-time, a status alert message from themanagement application 30′ on the mobile geofencing apparatus 172 on thevia the communications network 18, 18′ during the pre-determined timedconnection interval. The status alert message including a determined newvoltage level information 176″ for the internal battery 162, adetermined new temperature information 171″ for the vehicle 104 duringthe pre-determined timed connection interval, the determined new voltagelevel 176″ determined to be below the pre-determined voltage thresholdindicating use of the internal battery 162 on the mobile geofencingapparatus 172 requires adjusting.

At Step 242, calculating on the server battery management application30′ on the server network device 20 a new next pre-determined timedconnection interval using the new voltage level information 176″ for theinternal battery 162 determined to be below the pre-determined voltagethreshold, the new location information for the vehicle 104″ and the newtemperature information 171″ from the status message. (See Tables 5-8).

At Step 244, sending a status alert response message from the serverbattery management application 30′ on the server network device 20 tothe management application 30′ on the mobile geofencing apparatus 172 onthe via the communications network 18, 18′ during the pre-determinedtimed connection interval. The status alert response message including acalculated new next connection pre-determined timed connection intervalto be used on mobile geofence apparatus 172 and instructions on how themobile geofencing apparatus 172 should adjust its battery usage on theinternal battery 162 on the mobile geofencing apparatus 172 based thereceived new voltage level information 176″ for the internal battery 162determined to be below the pre-determined voltage threshold.

Table 8 illustrates exemplary decisions made by server batterymanagement application 30′ on the server network device 20 at Step 242to calculate the new next pre-determined timed connection interval.However, the present invention is not limited to these exemplarydecisions and more, fewer or other decisions can be used to practice theinvention.

TABLE 8 Decisions and data from Tables 5-7. Apparatus 172 reportslocation 102, temperature 171, battery voltage 176 to the server networkdevice 20, 22, 24, 26 with every heartbeat during the regular connectioninterval. Based on the data apparatus 172 sends, the server networkdevice 20, 22, 24, 26 calculates the next connection interval and sendsit back to the device 72. The next connection interval calculation is bebased on following criteria: Device battery voltage level 176 (which canbe estimated by voltage and other data which device 172 reports). Ifbattery voltage level 176 is getting low then the calculated nextinterval can be extended, or if there is a need to get more frequentreports then next connection interval can be shortened. Device expectedlocation 102″ at a time of the next connection. Based on the locationhistory, the server network device 20, 22, 24, 26 can also estimatewhere apparatus 172 will be at a particular time and can time any nextconnection intervals accordingly to avoid poor network coveragelocations, temperature 171 extreme locations, or other unfavorableconditions. One factor in decision making can also be communicationsnetwork 18, 18′ coverage maps (e.g., cell phone network coverage maps,etc.). Device's 172 expected temperature 171 is estimated with localweather forecast on the device's 72 expected location 102 together withthe device's temperature 171 history for vehiclel 04 movement and/orparking. Time since previous report An estimate the amount of powerdevice 172 used in sleep mode since last report based on the time thathas elapsed. Sleep mode power consumption is also dependent ontemperature 171″. Failed connection attempts When device 172 sendsreport to server network device 20, 22, 24, 26, it indicates the amountof times it has tried to connect since last report but failed. Eachfailed attempt consumes battery 162 power and this is taken into accountwhen estimating battery 162 power level. Type of location reportDepending on type of location 102 report sent, server network device 2022, 24, 26 is able to distinguish whether location 102 is cell toweronly, GPS 98 fix, or if GPS 98 fix was attempted but failed. All thesecases have a different battery 162 power usage profile. Battery 162 LifeEstimation A measure of the voltage of the battery 162 in the apparatus172 and estimate the remaining lifetime of the battery 162 from thatvalue. In one embodiment, the battery 162 used has a very consistentvoltage over time, and then drops off in its voltage suddenly when itreaches the end of its life. Battery 162 life estimation counts thenumber of times the apparatus 172 has wirelessly sent a location to theserver network device 20, 22, 24, 26, with power use calculationsadjusted for temperature 171 data to estimate a remaining battery 162power. As battery 162 charge level gets lower, apparatus 172 needs topull more current out of it to operate compared to full battery. A powerusage profile will be adjusted higher accordingly as battery 162 isbeing depleted.

FIG. 20 is a flow diagram illustrating a Method 246 for batterymanagement for a mobile geofencing device.

In FIG. 20 at Step 248, receiving on the management application on themobile geofencing apparatus located on or in the vehicle, a serverstatus alert response message from a server battery managementapplication on the server network device via the communications networkduring the pre-determined timed connection interval. The server statusalert message including a calculated new next connection pre-determinedtimed connection interval to be used on mobile geofence apparatus andinstructions on how the mobile geofencing apparatus should adjust itsbattery usage on the internal battery on the mobile geofencingapparatus. At Step 250, storing from the management application, thecalculated new next pre-determined timed connection interval from theserver alert message to generate a new next pre-determined timedconnection interval on the mobile geofencing apparatus based on thestatus alert response message. At Step 252, adjusting from themanagement application, battery usage on the internal battery on themobile geofencing apparatus based on instructions in the status alertresponse message.

Method 246 is illustrated with an exemplary embodiment. However, thepresent invention is not limited to such an embodiment and otherembodiments can be used to practice the invention.

In such an exemplary embodiment in FIG. 20 at Step 248, receiving on themanagement application 30′ on the mobile geofencing apparatus 172located on or in the vehicle 104, a server status alert response messagefrom a server battery management application 30′ on the server networkdevice 20 via the communications network 18,18′ during thepre-determined timed connection interval. The status alert messageincluding a calculated new next connection pre-determined timedconnection interval to be used on mobile geofence apparatus 172 andinstructions on how the mobile geofencing apparatus 172 should adjustits battery usage on the internal battery 176 on the mobile geofencingapparatus 172.

At Step 250, storing from the management application 30′, the calculatednew next pre-determined timed connection interval from the server alertmessage to generate a new next pre-determined timed connection intervalon the mobile geofencing apparatus 172 based on the server status alertresponse message.

At Step 252, adjusting from the management application 30′, batteryusage on the internal battery 162 on the mobile geofencing 172 apparatusbased on instructions in the status alert response message.

FIG. 21 is a flow diagram illustrating a Method 254 for batterymanagement for a mobile geofencing device.

In FIG. 21 at Step 256, sending from the management application on themobile geofencing apparatus during a location discovery time period,plural discovery location messages including discovery locationinformation for the vehicle, to the battery management application onthe server network device via the communications network. The discoverylocation information including Global Positioning System (GPS) locationinformation and cell tower location identification information for thevehicle. At Step 258, sending from the management application on themobile geofencing apparatus after a location discovery time period hasexpired, plural location messages including location information for thevehicle, to the battery management application on the server networkdevice via the communications network. The location informationincluding Global Positioning System (GPS) location information.

Method 254 is illustrated with an exemplary embodiment. However, thepresent invention is not limited to such an embodiment and otherembodiments can be used to practice the invention.

In such an exemplary embodiment in FIG. 21 at Step 256, sending from themanagement application 30′ on the mobile geofencing apparatus 172 duringa location discovery time period, plural discovery location messagesincluding discovery location information 102 for the vehicle 104, to thebattery management application 30′ on the server network device 20 viathe communications network 18, 18′. The discovery location informationincluding Global Positioning System (GPS) location information 98 andcell tower location identification information 97 for the vehicle 104.

In one embodiment, a discovery time period, includes, but is not limitedto, about a first 300-500 heartbeat location messages sent from themanagement application 30′ mobile geofencing apparatus 172 to thebattery management application 30′ on the server network device 20,including both GPS location information 98 and cell tower identificationinformation 97. However, the present invention is not limited to such anembodiment and other embodiments can be used to practice the invention.

At Step 258, sending from the management application 30′ on the mobilegeofencing apparatus 172 after a location discovery time period expired,plural location message including location information 102 for thevehicle 104, to the battery management application 30′ on the servernetwork device 20 via the communications network 18, 18. The locationinformation 102 including the Global Positioning System (GPS) locationinformation 98.

FIG. 22 is a flow diagram illustrating a Method 260 for batterymanagement for a mobile geofencing device.

In FIG. 22, at Step 262, receiving on the battery management applicationon the server network device from the management application on themobile geofencing apparatus via the communications network during alocation discovery time period, plural discovery location messagesincluding discovery location information for the vehicle. The discoverylocation information including Global Positioning System (GPS) locationinformation and cell tower location identification information for thevehicle. At Step 264, storing on the battery management application onthe server network device the discovery location information from theplural discovery location information messages. At Step 266, receivingon the battery management application on the server network device fromthe management application on the mobile geofencing apparatus via thecommunications network after the location discovery time period hasexpired plural location messages including location information for thevehicle. The plural location information including Global PositioningSystem (GPS) location information for the vehicle. At Step 268, storingon the battery management application on the server network device thelocation information from the plurality of location informationmessages. At Step 270, estimating on the battery management applicationon the server network device using the stored GPS location informationand the store cell tower location identification information, a mostlikely new physical location of the mobile geofencing apparatus on or inthe vehicle.

Method 260 is illustrated with an exemplary embodiment. However, thepresent invention is not limited to such an embodiment and otherembodiments can be used to practice the invention.

In such an exemplary embodiment in FIG. 21 at Step 262, receiving on thebattery management application 30′ on the server network device 20 fromthe management application 30′ on the mobile geofencing apparatus 172via the communications network 18, 18′ during a location discovery timeperiod, plural discovery location messages including discovery locationinformation 102 for the vehicle 104. The discovery location information102 including Global Positioning System (GPS) location information 98and cell tower location identification information 97 for the vehicle104.

In one embodiment, a discovery time period, includes, but is not limitedto, about a first 300-500 heartbeat location messages sent from themanagement application 30′ on the mobile geofencing apparatus 172 to thebattery management application on the server network device 20. Theplural discovery location messages including, but are not limited to,discovery location information including both GPS location information98 and cell tower identification information 97. However, the presentinvention is not limited to such an embodiment and other embodiments canbe used to practice the invention.

At Step 264, storing on the battery management application 30′ on theserver network device 20 the discovery location information from theplural discovery location information messages.

At Step 266, receiving on the battery management application 30′ on theserver network device 20 from the management application 30′ on themobile geofencing apparatus 172 via the communications network 18, 18′after the location discovery time period has expired plural locationmessages including location information 102 for the vehicle 104. Theplural location information 102 including Global Positioning System(GPS) location information 98 for the vehicle 104.

At Step 268, storing on the battery management application 30′ on theserver network device 20 the location information from the plurality oflocation information messages.

At Step 270, estimating on the battery management application 30′ on theserver network device 20 using the stored GPS location information 98and the stored cell tower location identification information 97 a mostlikely new physical location 102′ of the mobile geofencing apparatus 172on or in the vehicle 104.

A method and system for battery management for a mobile geofenceapparatus is presented herein. Location information for a vehicle,temperature information for the vehicle and battery information for theinternal battery on the mobile geofence apparatus is automatically,continuously and periodically collected and sent during a connectioninterval in real-time to an external network server network device viacommunications network for tracking the vehicle in real-time. Thebattery information is displayed on the mobile geofence apparatus for aviewer and is also sent to an external server network device for displayto a viewer. Internal battery usage is automatically managed internallyon the mobile geofence apparatus using the collected location, batteryand temperature information. The internal battery on the mobile geofenceapparatus can also be automatically managed externally via the externalserver network device using the collected location, battery andtemperature information. The connection interval is adjustedautomatically and dynamically by mobile geofence apparatus itself or bythe external network server to save battery life on the internal batterywhen the vehicle is in extreme hot or cold weather conditions and duringtimes when the vehicle is an area with poor network connectivity orcoverage.

It should be understood that the architecture, programs, processes,methods and systems described herein are not related or limited to anyparticular type of computer or network system (hardware or software),unless indicated otherwise. Various types specialized systems may beused with or perform operations in accordance with the teachingsdescribed herein.

In view of the wide variety of embodiments to which the principles ofthe present invention can be applied, it should be understood that theillustrated embodiments are exemplary only, and should not be taken aslimiting the scope of the present invention. For example, the steps ofthe flow diagrams may be taken in sequences other than those described,and more or fewer elements may be used in the block diagrams.

While various elements of the preferred embodiments have been describedas being implemented in software, in other embodiments hardware and/orfirmware implementations may alternatively be used, and vice-versa.

The claims should not be read as limited to the described order orelements unless stated to that effect. In addition, use of the term“means” in any claim is intended to invoke 35 U.S.C. § 112, paragraph 6,and any claim without the word “means” is not so intended.

Therefore, all embodiments that come within the scope and spirit of thefollowing claims and equivalents thereto are claimed as the invention.

We claim:
 1. A method for battery management on a mobile geofencingdevice located on or in a vehicle, the method executed by one or moreprocessors on a plurality of network devices, comprising: generatingautomatically and periodically in real-time, a connection request to themobile geofencing device located on or in the vehicle during apre-determined timed connection interval to send vehicle locationinformation to a server network device with one or more processors andone or more other network devices each with one or more processors via acommunications network; determining, voltage level information for aninternal battery on the mobile geofencing device; determining,temperature information including ambient temperature in or around thevehicle; determining, a current physical location for the vehicle;determining the voltage level information for the internal battery iswithin a pre-determined voltage threshold; determining the temperatureinformation for the vehicle is within a pre-determined temperaturethreshold; estimating additional battery usage required by the internalbattery based on the determined temperature information; sending inreal-time, a status message to the server network device and the one ormore network devices each with one or more processors external to thevehicle via the communications network, the status message including thedetermined location information for the vehicle, the determined voltageinformation for the vehicle, the determined temperature information forthe vehicle and the estimated battery usage required by the internalbattery based on the determined temperature information; and sending analert message in real-time to the server network device and the one ormore network devices external to the vehicle via the communicationsnetwork, the alert message including the determined location informationfor the vehicle, the determined voltage information for the vehicle, thedetermined temperature level information, and the estimated batteryusage required by the internal battery based on the determinedtemperature information on the mobile geofencing device is in a lowvoltage state; calculating a new pre-determined time period for a newalert connection interval that is different than the pre-determinedconnection interval, to generate a next connection request; entering await state on the mobile geofencing device until the new pre-determinedtime period for the new alert connection interval occurs, wherein thewait state is a state of the internal battery when the mobile geofencingdevice waits for the internal battery of the mobile geofencing device toreach an optimal temperature to re-connect the mobile geofencing deviceto the server network device and the one or more network devicesexternal to the vehicle via the communications network; and controlling,monitoring and reporting geofencing location and battery managementusage of the mobile geofencing device for the new pre-determined timeperiod for the new alert connection interval.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the step of determining temperature information includingambient temperature in or around the vehicle further includes:determining a relative humidity or a barometric pressure in or aroundthe vehicle.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the step entering thewait state further includes: monitoring temperature information in thevehicle, the monitoring triggered by one or more MicromachinedMicroElectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensors in the vehicle.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the MEMS sensors in the vehicle include MEMSsensors for: a speedometer system, a Global Positioning System (GPS), aheating system, an air conditioning system or a window system, anignition system in the vehicle.
 5. The method of claim 4, furthercomprising: estimating a new expected physical location for the vehiclebased on prior location information collected for the vehicle;estimating new temperature information based on a local weather forecastfor the estimated new expected physical location for the vehicle; andestimating a remaining lifetime time period of the internal batterybased on the estimated new expected physical location information forthe vehicle, the estimated new temperature information for the vehicleand the determined temperature information for the vehicle.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: estimating a remaining lifetimetime period of the internal battery based on the determined locationinformation for the vehicle, the determined voltage information for thevehicle, the determined temperature information for the vehicle andestimated battery usage required by the internal battery based on thedetermined temperature information.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereinthe step of sending in real-time status message further includes:displaying on a graphical user interface on the server network deviceand the one or more other network devices, a graphical display ofbattery operational information for the mobile geofencing device andother mobile geofencing devices on or in other vehicles.
 8. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: displaying on a display component on themobile geofencing device, battery operational information for the mobilegeofencing device in or on the vehicle.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein the mobile geofencing device includes an on-board diagnosticsapparatus (OBD), on-board diagnostics, second generation apparatus(OBD-2), or a network device with one or more processors including ageofence location application.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein theplurality of network devices include: mobile phones, tablet computers,laptop computers, surface computers, personal digital/data assistants orwearable network devices.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein the mobilegeofencing device and the plurality of network devices further include:a standalone battery management application that is not included in amanagement application or the geofence location application.
 12. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the mobile geofencing device includes aGlobal Positioning Services (GPS) component and a temperature collectioncomponent.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the mobile geofencingdevice further includes: a humidity collection component or a barometricpressure collection component.
 14. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: determining on the mobile geofencing device located on or inthe vehicle, automatically and periodically in real-time, new voltagelevel information for the internal battery, new location information forthe vehicle and new temperature information for the vehicle during thepre-determined timed connection interval; the determined new voltagelevel determined to be below the pre-determined voltage thresholdindicating use of the internal battery on the mobile geofencing devicerequires adjusting; sending a status alert message to server networkdevice via the communications network during the pre-determined timedconnection interval, the status message including the determined newvoltage level information for the internal battery, the determined newtemperature information for the vehicle during the pre-determined timedconnection interval; and receiving on the mobile geofencing device fromthe server network device via the communications network, a status alertresponse message, including a new next per-determined timed connectioninterval to be used on the mobile geofencing device calculated by theserver network device, the new next pre-determined timed connectioninterval calculated on the server network device using the new voltagelevel information for the internal battery, new location information forthe vehicle and new temperature information from the status message andthe determined new voltage level below the pre-determined voltagethreshold.
 15. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving onthe server network device in real-time, a status alert message from themobile geofencing device on the via the communications network duringthe pre-determined timed connection interval, the status alert messageincluding a determined new voltage level information for the internalbattery, a determined new temperature information for the vehicle duringthe pre-determined timed connection interval, the determined new voltagelevel determined to be below the pre-determined voltage thresholdindicating use of the internal battery on the mobile geofencing devicerequires adjusting; calculating on the server network device a new nextpre-determined timed connection interval using the new voltage levelinformation for the internal battery determined to be below thepre-determined voltage threshold, the new location information for thevehicle and the new temperature information from the status message; andsending a status alert response message from the server network deviceto the mobile geofencing device on the via the communications networkduring the pre-determined timed connection interval, the status alertresponse message including a calculated new next connectionpre-determined timed connection interval to be used on mobile geofencedevice and instructions on how the mobile geofencing device adjusts itsbattery usage on the internal battery on the mobile geofencing devicebased the received new voltage level information for the internalbattery determined to be below the pre-determined voltage threshold. 16.The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving on the mobilegeofencing device located on or in the vehicle, a server status alertresponse message from the server network device via the communicationsnetwork during the pre-determined timed connection interval; the statusalert message including a calculated new next connection pre-determinedtimed connection interval to be used on the mobile geofence device andinstructions on how the mobile geofencing device should adjust itsbattery usage on the internal battery on the mobile geofencing device;storing the calculated new next pre-determined timed connection intervalfrom the server alert message to generate a new next pre-determinedtimed connection interval on the mobile geofencing device based on thestatus alert response message; and adjusting battery usage on theinternal battery on the mobile geofencing device based on instructionsin the status alert response message.
 17. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: sending the mobile geofencing device during a locationdiscovery time period, a plurality of discovery location messagesincluding discovery location information for the vehicle, to the servernetwork device via the communications network; the plurality ofdiscovery location messages including discovery location informationincluding Global Positioning System (GPS) location information and celltower location identification information for the vehicle; and sendingthe mobile geofencing device after the location discovery time periodhas expired, a plurality of location messages including locationinformation for the vehicle, to the server network device via thecommunications network, the location information including GlobalPositioning System (GPS) location information.
 18. The method of claim1, further comprising: receiving on the server network device from themobile geofencing device via the communications network during alocation discovery time period a plurality of discovery locationmessages including discovery location information for the vehicle, thediscovery location information including Global Positioning System (GPS)location information and cell tower location identification informationfor the vehicle; storing on the server network device the discoverylocation information from the plurality of discovery locationinformation messages; receiving the server network device from themobile geofencing device via the communications network after thelocation discovery time period has expired a plurality of locationmessages including location information for the vehicle, the locationinformation including Global Positioning System (GPS) locationinformation; and storing the server network device the locationinformation from the plurality of location information messages; andestimating the server network device using the stored GPS locationinformation and cell tower location identification information, a mostlikely new physical location of the mobile geofencing device on or inthe vehicle.
 19. The method of claim 1, further comprising: a cloudcommunications network, with one or more cloud server network deviceseach with one or more processors, a cloud Infrastructure as a Service(IaaS); a cloud Platform as a Service (PaaS); and one or more othercloud services including a specific cloud Software as a Service (SaaS)service providing geofence location and battery management services. 20.A non-transitory computer readable medium have stored therein aplurality of instructions for causing one or more processors on aplurality of network devices to execute a method, the method comprising:generating automatically and periodically in real-time, a connectionrequest to a mobile geofencing device with one or more processorslocated on or in a vehicle during a pre-determined timed connectioninterval to send vehicle location information to a server network devicewith one or more processors and one or more other network devices eachwith one or more processors via a communications network; determiningvoltage level information for an internal battery on the mobilegeofencing device; determining temperature information including ambienttemperature in or around the vehicle; determining a current physicallocation for the vehicle; determining the voltage level information forthe internal battery is within a pre-determined voltage threshold;determining the temperature information for the vehicle is within apre-determined temperature threshold; estimating additional batteryusage required by the internal battery based on the determinedtemperature information; sending in real-time, a status message to theserver network device and the one or more network devices each with oneor more processors external to the vehicle via the communicationsnetwork, the status message including the determined locationinformation for the vehicle, the determined voltage information for thevehicle, the determined temperature information for the vehicle and theestimated battery usage required by the internal battery based on thedetermined temperature information; sending an alert message inreal-time to the server network device and the one or more networkdevices external to the vehicle via the communications network, thealert message including the determined location information for thevehicle, the determined voltage information for the vehicle, thedetermined temperature level information, and the estimated batteryusage required by the internal battery based on the determinedtemperature information on the mobile geofencing device is in a lowvoltage state; calculating a new pre-determined time period for a newalert connection interval that is different than the pre-determinedconnection interval, to generate a next connection request; entering await state on the mobile geofencing device until the new pre-determinedtime period for the new alert connection interval occurs, wherein thewait state is a state of the internal battery when the mobile geofencingdevice waits for the internal battery of the mobile geofencing device toreach an optimal temperature to re-connect the mobile geofencing deviceto the server network device and the one or more network devicesexternal to the vehicle via the communications network; and controlling,monitoring and reporting geofencing location and battery managementusage of the mobile geofencing device for the new pre-determined timeperiod for the new alert connection interval.
 21. A system for batterymanagement on a mobile geofencing device, comprising in combination: oneor more the mobile geofencing device each with or more processors; oneor more server network devices each with one or more processors; acommunications network; and one or more network devices each with one ormore processors configured for: generating automatically andperiodically in real-time, a connection request to a mobile geofencingdevice with one or more processors located on or in a vehicle during apre-determined timed connection interval to send vehicle locationinformation to a server network device with one or more processors andone or more other network devices each with one or more processors viathe communications network; determining voltage level information for aninternal battery on the mobile geofencing device; determiningtemperature information including ambient temperature in or around thevehicle; determining a current physical location for the vehicle;determining the voltage level information for the internal battery iswithin a pre-determined voltage threshold; determining the temperatureinformation for the vehicle is within a pre-determined temperaturethreshold; estimating additional battery usage required by the internalbattery based on the determined temperature information; sending inreal-time a status message to the server network device and the one ormore network devices each with one or more processors external to thevehicle via the communications network, the status message including thedetermined location information for the vehicle, the determined voltageinformation for the vehicle, the determined temperature information forthe vehicle and the estimated battery usage required by the internalbattery based on the determined temperature information; and sending analert message in real-time to the server network device and the one ormore network devices external to the vehicle via the communicationsnetwork, the alert message including the determined location informationfor the vehicle, the determined voltage information for the vehicle, thedetermined temperature level information, and the estimated batteryusage required by the internal battery based on the determinedtemperature information on the mobile geofencing device is in a lowvoltage state; calculating a new pre-determined time period for a newalert connection interval that is different than the pre-determinedconnection interval, to generate a next connection request; entering await state on the mobile geofencing device until the new pre-determinedtime period for the new alert connection interval occurs, wherein thewait state is a state of the internal battery when the mobile geofencingdevice waits for the internal battery of the mobile geofencing device toreach an optimal temperature to re-connect the mobile geofencing deviceto the server network device and the one or more network devicesexternal to the vehicle via the communications network; and controlling,monitoring and reporting geofencing location and battery managementusage of the mobile geofencing device for the new pre-determined timeperiod for the new alert connection interval.